PRIME MINISTER

Tsunami

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Indian Prime Minister on the effects of the recent tsunami in India;

Tony Blair: I have had no discussions with the Indian Prime Minister on the tsunami. Officials have of course been in contact with their Indian counterparts.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Property

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many items of civil service property within her Department are unaccounted for, broken down by type.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 January 2005, Official Report, column. 769W.

External Suppliers

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many tenders were let by his Department to external suppliers in financial year 2003–04; and what the value was.

David Miliband: The information on contracts awarded by the Cabinet Office cannot be obtained in the format required without incurring disproportionate costs.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants from the Cabinet Office have (a) faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft, (b) been charged with theft and (c) been dismissed following theft allegations in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: No Cabinet Office civil servants faced disciplinary proceedings or were charged or dismissed following theft during the period 1998–2004.
	No information is available for 1997.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

CPS Prosecutions

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases were referred to Essex Crown Prosecution Service in each year from 2000; and in how many cases a decision to prosecute was made.

Harriet Harman: The following table shows the numbers of defendants' files submitted to CPS for the relevant years together with the total numbers of defendants prosecuted by CPS Essex.
	
		
			  Number of defendants' files submitted by police to CPS Essex Number of defendants prosecuted by CPS Essex 
		
		
			 2000 24,173 25,761 
			 2001 28,046 26,440 
			 2002 34,765 26,931 
			 2003 35,761 27,570 
			 2004 (to September 2004)34,321 21,977 
		
	
	The number of cases completed in any one year is unlikely to match the number received as incomplete cases are carried over, and dealt with, in subsequent years.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Solicitor-General how many requests the Attorney-General's office has received to date for the Attorney-General's advice to Government, and its preceding iterations, on the legality of invading Iraq.

Harriet Harman: As at 18 January 2005, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers has received 18 requests under the Freedom of Information Act for the advice given by the Attorney-General on the legality of the use of force against Iraq and related documents.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost of refurbishments in his Department was in each year since 1997; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. No refurbishment projects have been undertaken from that date and there is no planned expenditure for 2005–06.
	There is an essential maintenance programme currently under way at Dover House, the Scotland Office headquarters building in London.

Departmental Credit Cards

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many credit cards for official expenditure are held by his Department.

Anne McGuire: None.

Sickness Absence

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days sick leave were taken by civil servants in the Department in each year since 1997; and what the sickness absence rate was in each year.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999.
	Details of sick leave and absence rates for the Scotland Office are contained in "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service 2003" published by the Cabinet Office. The publication of the 2003 report was announced by written ministerial statement on 1 November 2004, Official Report, 1WS, copies of which were placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The Scotland Office is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and to putting in place the recommendations of the recently published "Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector".

Staff Gyms

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many gyms are available to the staff in the Department; and what the cost of providing them was in the last year for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Staff of the Scotland Office have access to facilities in the buildings of the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Scottish Executive. There is no cost to the Office for the use of these facilities.

Working Time Regulations

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officials working in ministerial private offices in the Department have worked more than a 48-hour week at any time in the last 12 months for which figures are available; how many of those had signed a waiver under Working Time Regulations; and what percentage these figures represented of the total in each case.

Anne McGuire: The Working Time Regulations provide workers with the protection of a limit of an average of 48 hours a week working time over a fixed period, normally 17 weeks. Managers in the Scotland Office monitor staff working to identify those who may be close to or surpassing these limits but weekly records of hours worked are not routinely retained. No ministerial private office staff in the Office have signed a waiver under the Working Time Regulations.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Film Industry

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support the Government are offering the film industry in the North East.

Estelle Morris: In 2004–05, the Government-funded UK Film Council provided £400,000 grant in aid support to Northern Film and Media (NFM), the Regional Screen Agency for the North East. NFM also received £390,000 of Lottery funding. This money, together with contributions from other funding agencies, was spent on promoting and building a vibrant and sustainable moving image industry in the North East.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the contracts signed by her special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Richard Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 753W.

WALES

Emergency Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the National Assembly for Wales Government on proposals for changes to emergency services provision in Wales.

Don Touhig: I discuss a wide range of issues with Assembly Ministers, including the emergency services.

Homelessness

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many homeless households on average were in (a) temporary accommodation and (b) bed and breakfast accommodation in Wales in each year from 1990–91 to the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales.

Don Touhig: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Homeless households accommodated temporarily on31 December (1)(2)
		
			   Bed and breakfast All types of temporary accommodation 
		
		
			 1990(3) 141 1,011 
			 1991 242 1,214 
			 1992 248 1,032 
			 1993(4) 108 764 
			 1994 64 611 
			 1995 62 548 
			 1996 86 509 
			 1997 78 692 
			 1998 69 846 
			 1999 69 850 
		
	
	(1) 1990–96 data relate to the period when cases of homelessness were dealt with under the Housing Act 1985
	(2) From 1997 onwards cases are dealt with under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996. Households found to be eligible unintentionally homeless and in priority need.
	(3) Figures exclude the estimated 2,000 households made homeless in Colwyn as a result of the major flooding incident in February 1990, for whom no breakdown by action of local authority is available.
	(4) Figures exclude the estimated 237 households made homeless in Aberconwy as a result of the flooding incident in Llandudno during June 1993, for whom no breakdown by action of local authority is available
	Source:
	Welsh Office/Welsh Assembly WHO12 returns number

Ministerial Engagements

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the Ministerial engagements (a) out of London and (b) in London that he has cancelled since 1 January 2004.

Peter Hain: There is no record kept of cancelled engagements in Wales Office Ministers' diaries. When engagements have had to be cancelled, wherever possible we try to re-instate them at a later date. All engagements are subject to ministerial and parliamentary business.

Swimming Pools

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many public swimming pools there are in Wales.

Don Touhig: In November 2004 there were 129 public swimming pools in Wales.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Apiculture

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what effect she expects the removal of Varroosis from the list of notifiable diseases to have on the health of (a) feral and (b) non-feral colonies of bees.

Alun Michael: Removing Varroosis from the list of notifiable diseases is not expected to have any significant impact on bee health as the disease has been endemic in the UK for several years.

Apiculture

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her assessment is of the state of the honey industry in the UK; and how she expects it to change in the next five years.

Alun Michael: In recent years, the value of honey production in the UK has fluctuated between £10 million and £35 million per annum. Production has ranged between 3,000 and 7,500 tonnes per annum. The contribution of the honey industry to the agricultural economy is difficult to measure since productivity depends on a range of factors. But, subject to the influence of environmental conditions, such as the weather and available flora, bee health and the interest in the craft of beekeeping, no marked change is expected in the next five years.

Apiculture

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what she estimates to be the contribution made by the beekeeping industry to the agricultural economy; and what assessment she has made of how it will be affected by the proposed cut in the budget of the National Bee Unit for 2005–06.

Alun Michael: An independent assessment, undertaken in 2001, estimated the value of beekeeping in England to the agricultural economy at around £120 million per annum. The proposed reduction in Defra's budget for the National Bee Unit will not apply until 2008. We are working with beekeeping associations to minimise any risks associated with this.

Bird Population

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent reports the Department has assessed relating to the reduction in the number of species of birds in the United Kingdom and the implications for the bird population of the United Kingdom.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra annually monitors the numbers of a whole range of birds, through the breeding bird survey. This survey, conducted and funded jointly by the British Trust for Ornithology, the RSPB and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, assesses trends in the numbers of common species of birds across the country. A range of other surveys, funded by these organisations, assesses trends in scarcer species. Annual reports are produced for each of the surveys, but summary information derived from them is contained in the report "The State of the UK's Birds 2003" 1 , which was published in July 2004.
	This report revealed:
	The UK wild bird indicator, a barometer of the fortunes of breeding birds in the UK, for all species showed a slight decline between 2000 and 2002, but has stayed relatively stable since the early 1980s.
	Continuing decreases in species such as the lesser spotted woodpecker, willow tit and wood warbler.
	Considerable mixed fortunes in the trends in commoner breeding birds with decreases in populations of turtle doves, corn buntings, house sparrows and starlings, but short term increases in tree sparrows, stone chats and kingfishers.
	The report recognised encouraging progress towards meeting species' targets in the UK biodiversity action plan where concerted conservation action has resulted in increases in numbers of bitterns, corncrakes, stone-curlews and cirl buntings—all species that were at serious risk of extinction as recently as the mid-1990s. Whilst there is no reason for complacency, indications are that the dramatic rate of long-term decline in overall bird populations may have been halted.
	1 Eaton M.A., Noble D.G., Cranswick P.A., Carter N., Wotton S., Ratcliffe N., Wilson A., Hilton G.M., and Gregory R.D., 2004. The State of the UK's Birds 2003. BTO, the RSPB and WWT, Sandy.

BSE

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list countries in which there are confirmed cases of BSE; and whether export controls have been put in place (a) voluntarily and (b) compulsorily in each case.

Ben Bradshaw: The following countries have reported confirmed cases of BSE in indigenous cattle.
	EU member states
	UK
	Italy
	Austria
	Luxembourg
	Belgium
	Netherlands
	Denmark
	Portugal
	Finland
	Spain
	France
	Czech Republic
	Germany
	Poland
	Greece
	Slovakia
	Ireland
	Slovenia
	Non-EU countries
	Switzerland
	Liechtenstein
	Canada
	Israel
	Japan
	In addition, one case identified in the USA was imported from Canada.
	Portugal and the UK have had an export ban imposed by EU law as a result of a high incidence of BSE. The ban on exports of cattle and their products from Portugal was lifted in December last year following the satisfactory demonstration by the Portuguese authorities to the EU Commission of adequate BSE controls and reduced BSE incidence. We have not been notified of any voluntary export controls by any of the countries listed.

Burnside Farm

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date a Government Minister was first informed of the existence of the video of Burnside Farm taken by Northumberland Trading Standards on 24 February 2001.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 29 November 2005
	My noble Friend the Under-Secretary and my hon. Friend, the Minister of State saw extracts of the video when they were shown widely in the television news media at the time of Robert Waugh's trial in May 2002. The video was brought to Ministers' attention again as a result of the recent interest in it that was generated by pig swill campaigners.

Burnside Farm

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department possessed a copy of the video of Burnside Farm taken by Northumberland Trading Standards on 24 February 2001; and when the decision not to provide the video to the Anderson Inquiry was taken.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 29 November 2005
	Defra has no record of being sent a copy of the video by Northumberland county council before February 2003. The report of the Lessons to be Learned Inquiry, chaired by Dr. lain Anderson, was published on 22 July 2002. Eye-witness evidence collected at Burnside Farm at the same time as the video was taken was provided to the Anderson Inquiry.

Burnside Farm

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the (i) Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and (ii) her Department had been informed of the existence of the (A) James Dring Report, (B) Northumberland Trading Standards video and report, (C) scientific test samples sent to Pirbright and (D) results of those test samples, in respect of the Burnside Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall, foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001, (1) prior to and (2) during the period of the Dr. Iain Anderson FMD Inquiry in 2001–02;
	(2)  whether the (a) James Dring Report, (b) Northumberland Trading Standards video and report, (c) scientific test samples sent to Pirbright and (d) results of those test samples in respect of the Burnside Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall, foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001 were (i) supplied to the Chairman of the Lessons to be Learned Inquiry in 2001 and (ii) the subject of minuted informal meetings in (A) the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and (B) her Department in (1) 2001 and (2) 2002;
	(3)  what assessment was made of the suitability of the (a) James Dring Report, (b) Northumberland Trading Standards video and report, (c) scientific test samples sent to Pirbright and (d) results of those test samples in respect of the Burnside Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall, foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001, to be forwarded to Dr Iain Anderson for his inquiry in 2001–02.

Ben Bradshaw: Ministers were briefed about and had access to Mr. Dring's personal statement in the week beginning 8 March 2004. Officials knew about Mr. Dring's statement prior to and during the period of the FMD 2001: Lessons to be Learned Inquiry, chaired by Dr. Iain Anderson
	Mr. Dring's personal statement was not submitted to the Lessons to be Learned Inquiry, as there was concern that the contents would have been prejudicial to Mr. Waugh's trial at which Mr. Dring was a witness of fact, rather than an expert witness, had the statement received publicity beforehand. The contemporaneous notes of Mr. Dring's visits to Burnside were given to Dr. Anderson. Mr. Dring also contributed fully to the investigations on the origins of the foot-and mouth (FMD) outbreak 2001, submitted by the then Chief Veterinary Officer to the Inquiry. This Origins of FMD report was based on wide-ranging evidence and rigorous investigation and was published by Dr. Anderson. Defra has no record of minutes of informal meetings being made or submitted to the inquiry.
	Ministers and Dr. Anderson have said it was regrettable that the Mr. Dring's statement was not sent to the inquiry. However, Dr. Anderson has stated that had he seen Mr. Dring's statement at that time it would not have changed any conclusions or recommendations of his inquiry.
	The circumstances surrounding Mr. Dring's visit to Burnside Farm were discussed with the Lessons Learned Inquiry Team on 4 March 2002; a note of the meeting was also published by Dr. Anderson.
	Defra has known about the video since it was first being made in so far as a Veterinary Officer was present on Burnside Farm on 24 February 2001, when filming took place. We have no record of Ministers being expressly informed of the existence of the video until recently. The Under-Secretary became aware of the video when extracts were shown in the television news media at the time of Robert Waugh's trial in May 2002. It was brought to Ministers' attention again as a result of the media and parliamentary interest in the video that was generated by the Farmers Weekly in October this year. I am not aware of any associated report written by Northumberland county council.
	The report of the FMD 2001: Lessons to be Learned Inquiry, chaired by Dr. Iain Anderson, was published on 22 July 2002. Defra has no record of being sent a copy of the video by Northumberland county council before February 2003. Northumberland county council did not release any copies of the video before the trial of Mr. Waugh in May 2002, after Dr. Anderson had stopped receiving evidence for his Lessons to be Learned Inquiry.
	Officials were aware made aware of the scientific tests results on the samples taken at Burnside Farm, as soon they were available, resulting in Defra confirming disease on Burnside farm on 23 February. Details of the samples and the results of the tests are set out in the Origins of FMD report submitted to the Anderson Inquiry.
	As set out in the Origins of FMD report, samples were taken at Burnside Farm on 22 February, which included epithelium samples from two pigs and 20 blood samples taken from other pigs on the premises. On 24 February further sampling was carried out when FMD experts from the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright and an epidemiological team from Defra visited the farm. 88 per cent. of the 241 pigs blood sampled on that day were seropositive for FMD Type O antibodies.
	I would also refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 13 December about the video of Burnside Farm.

Burnside Farm

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department first received (a) a video and (b) other documentary evidence from Northumberland Trading Standards Department in respect of the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak at Heddon-on-the-Wall.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra has no record of being sent a copy of the video by Northumberland county council before February 2003. We have not received any other documentary evidence from the council.

Civil Service Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many items of civil service property within her Department are unaccounted for, broken down by type.

Alun Michael: The information supplied within the following tables does not include property lost or stolen from executive agencies. Data are only available from 2001–02, as the Department did not exist prior to that year.
	In addition to the data given here, a number of cage traps have been damaged or lost as a result of action by animal right activists, and the calculated value since 2001–02 amounts to about £60,000.
	The three attached tables comprise a summary sheet for the three years since the Department's inception supported by a workings sheet and detailed inventory of individual items.
	
		Summary of items stolen or lost for years 2001–04
		
			  Quantity Amount (£) 
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Items categorised as stolen 
			 Laptop 4 6 2 6,691 10,221 1,151 
			 Mobile phone 6 1 0 441 40 0 
			 PCs3 4 1 3,332 6,208 1,916  
			 Monitors 0 6 0 0 4,004 0 
			 Projectors 0 2 0 0 5,160 0 
			 Pressure washers 0 3 0 0 2,885 0 
			 Digital camera 0 2 0 0 700 0 
			 Total 13 24 3 10,464 29,218 3,067 
			
			 Items categorised as lost   
			 Laptop 6 3 1 10,301 4,465 1,664 
			 Mobile phone 2 5 0 180 740 0 
			 PCs 0 2 0 0 647 0 
			 Projectors 1 0 0 300 0 0 
			 Scanner 0 1 0 0 200 0 
			 Global positioning unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Fax modem 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dictaphone 21 3 0 3,936 280 0 
			 Pressure washers 1 0 1 1,586 0 2,624 
			 Protective clothing 0 1 0 0 57 0 
			 Burn site equipment 1 0 0 1,422 0 0 
			 Total 32 15 2 17,725 6,389 4,288 
			
			 Combined total of items stolen or lost   
			 Laptop 10 9 3 16,992 14,686 2,815 
			 Mobile phone 8 6 0 621 780 0 
			 PCs 3 6 1 3,332 6,855 1,916 
			 Pressure washers 1 3 1 1,586 2,885 2,624 
			 Monitors 0 6 0 0 4,004 0 
			 Projectors 1 2 0 300 5,160 0 
			 Scanners 0 1 0 0 200 0 
			 Digital camera 0 2 0 0 700 0 
			 Fax modem 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dictaphone 21 3 0 3,936 280 0 
			 Global positioning unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Protective clothing 0 1 0 0 57 0 
			 Burn site equipment 1 0 0 1,422 0 0 
			 Total 45 39 5 28,189 35,607 7,355 
		
	
	
		Items stolen or lost analysed by year and category
		
			 Category/Item Item Quantity 
		
		
			 2001–02   
			 Theft   
			 Laptop 4 6,690.32 
			 Mobile Phones 6 441.35 
			 PC Hardrive 1 800.00 
			 PC Viewer 1 2,173.75 
			 PC 1 358.16 
			
			 Loss   
			 Laptop 6 10,301.30 
			 Mobile Phones 4 297.50 
			 Projector 1 300.00 
			 Pressure Hose & Fittings1 1,586.25 
			 Burn Site Equipment1 1,421.75 
			 Dictaphones 21 3,936.00 
			 Cage traps Unknown 26,046.00 
			
			 2002–03   
			 Theft   
			 Laptop 6 10,221.00 
			 Mobile Phones 1 40.00 
			 Digital Camera 2 700.00 
			 PCs 2 2,620.00 
			 PC Base Unit 1 587.50 
			 IT equipment 1 3,000.00 
			 Monitors 6 4,004.40 
			 Projectors 2 5,160.00 
			 Pressure washers 3 2,885.00 
			
			 Loss   
			 Laptop 3 4,464.59 
			 Mobile Phones 5 740.00 
			 PC 2 647.00 
			 Scanner 1 200.00 
			 Dictaphones 3 280.00 
			 Protective clothing 1 57.58 
			
			 2003–04   
			 Theft   
			 Laptop 2 1,151.44 
			 IT equipment 1 1,916.00 
			
			 Loss   
			 Laptop 1 1,1663.72 
			 Diesel Pressure Washer1 2,623.78 
			 Cage Traps 1,013 34,188.75 
			 Total  38,476.25 
		
	
	
		Inventory of items stolen or lost for years 2001–04
		
			 Category Item Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02   
			 Theft Psion 358.16 
			 Theft Two Mobile phones 96.35 
			 Theft Cage traps — 
			  Binoculars — 
			  GPS — 
			  Pager 26,046 
			 Theft PC Hard Drive 800 
			 Loss Two laptops 2,060.26 
			 Theft Projector and Laptop 1,578 
			 Theft Laptop 1,933.32 
			 Loss(5) Four laptops 241.04 
			 Theft Laptop 1679 
			 Theft PC viewer 2,173.75 
			 Loss Pressure hose and fittings 1,586.25 
			 Loss FMD burn site 1,421.75 
			 Theft Mobile phone 120 
			 Theft Phone 25 
			 Theft Mobile phone 100 
			 Loss Mobile phone 100 
			 Theft Mobile phone 100 
			 Loss Mobile phone 80 
			 Theft Laptop 1,500 
			 Loss Mobile phone 58.75 
			 Loss Mobile phone 58.75 
			 Loss Overhead Projector 300 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			
			 2002–03   
			 Theft Three pressure washers 2,885 
			 Theft Digital camera 350 
			 Theft Mobile phone 40 
			 Theft Digital camera 350 
			 Loss Laptop 2,000 
			 Loss Three mobile phones 360 
			 Theft PC 447 
			 Loss Laptop 1,500 
			 Loss Scanner 200 
			 Theft Two laptops 3,200 
			 Theft PC base unit 587.5 
			 Loss Two monitors 1,334.8 
			 Theft Mobile phone 300 
			 Theft Laptop 342 
			 Theft Laptop 1,815 
			 Loss Laptop 2,764 
			 Theft Laptop 1,264.59 
			 Theft Four monitors 2,669.6 
			 Theft Two projectors 5,160 
			 Loss Laptop 1,800 
			 Theft Mobile phone 80 
			 Theft Two PCs 2,620 
			 Loss Computer equipment 3,000 
			 Theft PC 200 
			 Loss Protective clothing 57.58 
			 Loss(6) Rabies van 2,500 
			 Loss Three Dictaphones 280 
			
			 2003–04   
			 Theft Laptop 56.96 
			 Loss Laptop 1,663.72 
			 Theft IT equipment 1,916 
			 Loss Diesel pressure washer 2,623.78 
			 Loss 1013 Cage traps 34,188.75 
			 Theft Laptop 1,094.48 
		
	
	(5) Not delivered.
	(6) Damage

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the hon. Member for Scunthorpe will reply to the letter of 1 September 2004 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire.

Elliot Morley: I responded to the hon. Member on 12 January 2005.

Environmental Sustainability Index

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where the UK ranks in the Environmental Sustainability Index; and what the rankings are of other EU countries.

Elliot Morley: The UK ranks 91st in the current 2002 Environmental Sustainability Index. The ranks for other EU countries are shown in the table. We understand that an updated index is to be published by the end of February.
	The UK and other countries believe this index is flawed and potentially misleading. It is an aggregated indicator that aims to weigh together many components into a single overall measure of "environmental sustainability", an approach that as yet is not scientifically robust. The choice of the components, and the way in which they are weighted together is largely subjective. A different choice of components or weights would give different results—amply illustrated by the fact that the previous edition of this index, based on a different selection of components, placed the UK 16th. Furthermore, there are still many areas where data are not sufficiently comparable between countries, or are simply not available and have been imputed. It should also be noted that the variables in this index tend to measure circumstances at a single point in time rather than trends or changes, therefore to the extent the index measures anything at all, it is based on the environmental situation which a country faces rather than its progress or performance in improving environmental sustainability.
	
		2002 Environmental sustainability index rankings by EU country
		
			 Rank Country ESI score 
		
		
			 1 Finland 73.9 
			 3 Sweden 72.6 
			 7 Austria 64.2 
			 10 Latvia 63.0 
			 11 Hungary 62.7 
			 14 Slovakia 61.6 
			 18 Estonia 60.0 
			 23 Slovenia 58.8 
			 27 Lithuania 57.2 
			 28 Portugal 57.1 
			 31 Denmark 56.2 
			 33 France 55.5 
			 34 Netherlands 55.4 
			 37 Ireland 54.8 
			 44 Spain 54.1 
			 50 Germany 52.5 
			 60 Greece 50.9 
			 64 Czech Republic 50.2 
			 84 Italy 47.2 
			 87 Poland 46.7 
			 91 United Kingdom 46.1 
			 125 Belgium 39.1 
			 — Cyprus — 
			 — Luxembourg — 
			 — Malta — 
		
	
	Source:
	Global Leaders of Tomorrow Task Force of the World Economic Forum in association with Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University www.ciesin.columbia.edu/indicators/ESI.

EU Directives

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the infrastructure proceedings pending against the UK Government arising from the failure to comply with EU environmental directives, indicating those which relate exclusively to (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

Elliot Morley: I assume the hon. Member means infraction proceedings pending against the UK Government. At present there are three cases pending at the European Court of Justice on environmental directives, none of which is related exclusively to England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
	The three cases are:
	
		
			 Directive number Nature of the case 
		
		
			 1992/43/EC Habitats sites list 
			 1992/43/EC Natural Habitats of wild fauna and flora 
			 1992/43/EC UK trade in Annex IV species and application of the birds and habitats directive

Food Dumping

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) tonnage and (b) value of food was dumped by the food industry in landfill sites or incinerated because it had passed the sell-by date in the last year for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: The data are not available in the form requested. The Government are currently consulting on a waste data strategy, designed to improve the quality of waste data in the interests of all potential users.
	The Environment Agency's National Waste Production Survey (NWPS) of 20,000 businesses, conducted in 1998–99, produced the following estimates in respect of food waste:
	
		
			 Sector Quantity of waste in tonnes As percentage of food waste produced by the commercial and industrial sectors As percentage of total waste produced by the commercial and industrial sectors 
		
		
			 Retail 253,000 9.77 0.29 
			 Hotels and restaurants 10,000 0.38 0.01 
			 Food, drinks and  tobacco 1,939,000 74.89 2.24 
			 Total 2,202,000 85.04 2.54 
		
	
	However these figures only relate to that fraction of the waste that is definitely food. A considerable amount of food waste was also contained within the general and biodegradable category. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimate that the amount of food waste produced by the hotel and restaurant sector, for example, could be as high as 3 million tonnes per year.
	From 1 January 2006 the Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 will prohibit the use of landfill for the disposal of former foodstuffs containing material of animal origin which originate in food manufacturing and retail premises. Also, I understand that a number of multiple retailers have voluntary initiatives in place to make use of unsold food products.
	The Government support diverting foodstuffs away from landfill and provides funding for various measures that offer value-for-money in terms of diverting waste from landfill.

Food Transportation

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to reduce food miles.

Alun Michael: Defra has commissioned research on the impact of food transportation. The report of the study of "The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development" will be published soon. I will write to my hon. Friend to inform him when the report is published.
	Defra has also contributed funding, along with other stakeholders, to a Transport 2000 study to model various transport distribution scenarios for a 'basket' of three food products. The study examined whether a shift to sourcing these products more locally would lead to greater or fewer CO 2 emissions in the supply chain overall. Transport 2000 has recently published the results of this work in "Wise Moves—exploring the relationship between food, transport and CO 2 ".

National Bee Unit

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the proposals outlined in the Haskins Report on the budget of the National Bee Unit; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Haskins Report made no proposals concerning the budget of the National Bee Unit, though this provision was one identified in Defra's Activity Baseline Review as an area where 20 per cent. savings (equivalent to £250,000 p.a.) could be realised from 2008.

National Bee Unit

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to change staffing levels at the Central Science Laboratory's National Bee Unit.

Alun Michael: Staffing levels at the National Bee Unit will be affected by a reduction of 20 per cent. in funding for the Defra bee health programme from 2008. Detailed decisions are a matter for the Central Science Laboratory but we anticipate the reduction will impact most on seasonal bee inspectors.

Parliamentary Questions

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason an incorrect answer was given on 9 November to the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire in reply to question 194308 in the last Session of Parliament.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 29 November 2005
	Because it was based on the information available at the time. Further investigation revealed that two Defra officials were sent copies of the video by Northumberland county council at the beginning of February 2003. I corrected my answer to question 194008 as soon as I was informed of this in my pursuant answer to the hon. Member on 18 November 2004.

Pesticides

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what sanctions can be used against local authorities which have failed to test private water supplies for pesticides since 1991.

Elliot Morley: Local authorities have a duty in section 77 Water Industry Act 1991, to keep themselves informed of the wholesomeness and sufficiency of public and private water supplies to premises in their areas.
	In addition, authorities have a duty in the Private Water Supplies Regulations 1991 to monitor at prescribed frequencies for pesticides in larger supplies, and to monitor for pesticides in smaller supplies from time to time in order to ascertain and record the extent to which pesticides are present.
	The Drinking Water Inspectorate have inspected some local authorities' arrangements for monitoring private water supplies, including collation of information gathered about monitoring for pesticides.
	Local authorities are subject to the courts' judicial control. It is for an individual affected to bring proceedings in appropriate circumstances.
	An individual can also apply to the Local Government Ombudsman if he or she has an unresolved complaint.

Stray Dog Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has recently (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the ability of local authorities (i) to fund and (ii) to manage a 24 hour stray dog service, with particular reference to setting the level of fines for breaches of dog control orders.

Alun Michael: The Local Government Association is currently evaluating the cost to local authorities of assuming sole responsibility for stray dogs, and any transfer of responsibility for dealing with stray dogs at night from the police to local authorities will be accompanied by an appropriate transfer of resources. Local authorities will not be expected to fund additional responsibilities for stray dogs from receipts from fixed penalties issued for breach of dog control orders.

Supermarkets

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much correspondence and of what nature, the Department has received in each of the last three years for which figures are available from producers and suppliers in respect of their relationship with large supermarket companies, with particular reference to contracts and the relationships throughout the supply chain.

Alun Michael: Over the last three years the Department has received various pieces of correspondence from producers and suppliers on a range of subjects that will have mentioned in various context matters to do with their relations with large supermarket companies. However, the Department does not maintain a record of the amount of such correspondence received.

Timber

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress on the Government programme for use of timber products which are legal and sustainably grown.

Elliot Morley: In July 2000 the Government made a commitment that its central Departments and their executive agencies would seek to purchase their timber and timber products from legal and sustainable sources. Since then the Government has commissioned research and advice on implementing this policy, undertaken consultation with stakeholders, raised the awareness of central Departments, promoted the policy to the wider public sector, published guidance and commenced the development of a central point of expertise on timber (CPET).
	The Sustainable Development in Government Reports provide an indication of the progress being made by central Departments in England. The Third Annual Report 2004 reveals that certified products accounted for 71 per cent. of the money spent on construction timber and 78 per cent. of the money spent on manufactured timber products during the financial year 2003–04. Much of the uncertified timber purchased was supplied with some evidence of legal and sustainable sources. For the preceding financial year 2002–03 Departments reported that certified products accounted for approximately 50 per cent. of their spend on all timber products and that there was some evidence that much of the uncertified timber came from legal and sustainable sources.
	The CPET is being developed in phases. Phase 1 was completed in November 2004 and provided an assessment of the extent to which five forest certification schemes provide Government buyers with assurance that legal and sustainable timber has been procured. Phase 2 of CPET will provide a help line service for public sector buyers and their suppliers. A pilot scheme is currently in operation and will provide information that will assist the Government in developing a full service. The Government expects the Phase 2 Help Line service to be operational before autumn 2005.

Timber

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will incorporate social criteria involving impacts on indigenous forest people into official programmes for responsible timber use.

Elliot Morley: The Government's timber procurement policy is aimed, in part, at helping to improve the well being of forest dependent peoples throughout the world. The Government is asking its timber suppliers to provide independent verification that their timber was legally harvested and preferably grown in well-managed forests. In many producing countries the forest laws will help to protect indigenous people's rights, customs and livelihoods. The application of certification scheme standards and equivalent standards that provide assurance of sustainable forest management will add to that protection in many instances.
	The Government does not place contractual obligations on its suppliers to take direct action to protect indigenous people because the Government understands that to do so would be in contravention of EU procurement directives. EU procurement law prohibits the specification of criteria that are not strictly relevant to the performance of a contract. Specifications must relate to what is being procured rather than to the people or undertakings that produce what is being procured.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of municipal waste was (a) composted, (b) recycled and (c) sent to incineration facilities in (i) 2000–2001, (ii) 2001–02 and (iii) 2002–03; and what the equivalent figures were for (A) France, (B) Denmark, (C) the Netherlands, (D) Germany and (E) Austria.

Elliot Morley: The available data are shown as follows.
	
		Municipal waste
		
			  Percentage of municipal waste sent for: 
			  Composting Recycling Incineration 
		
		
			 2000–01
			 United Kingdom 3 8 7 
			 France 11 11 32 
			 Denmark 16 22 53 
			 Netherlands 24 22 31 
			 Germany 15 27 22 
			 Austria 39 24 10 
			 
			 2001–02
			 United Kingdom 3 8 7 
			 France 13 12 32 
			 Denmark 14 18 60 
			 Netherlands 23 22 33 
			 Germany 15 27 22 
			 Austria n/a n/a n/a 
			 
			 2002–03
			 United Kingdom 4 11 8 
			 France n/a n/a n/a 
			 Denmark 15 19 58 
			 Netherlands 24 21 32 
			 Germany n/a n/a n/a 
			 Austria n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.
	Note:
	Waste statistics on EU countries are from the Eurostat website which can be accessed through http://europa.eu.int.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on average, how many kilograms of waste were (a) recycled, (b) diverted from landfill and (c) sent to energy from waste facilities per household in (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) Austria, (iii) Germany, (iv) Denmark and (v) Sweden in the last year for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: The latest available data are shown as follows:
	
		
			   Kilograms of municipal waste per capita 
			   Recycled/composted Energy from waste Diverted from landfill 
		
		
			 2002–03 United Kingdom 87 46 120 
			 2000 Austria 368 60 394 
			 2001 Germany 247 0 445 
			 2002 Denmark 231 389 620 
			 2001 Sweden 171 169 343 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are shown per capita which is the usual basis for international comparisons.
	2. Waste statistics on EU countries are available from the Eurostat website which can be accessed through http://europa.eu.int.

Waste

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will make an announcement on the operation of the Waste Performance Reward Grant for 2005–06.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 January 2005
	On 9 December 2004 Defra announced a three-year targeted waste performance and efficiency grant of £260 million to support new and more efficient ways to deliver waste reduction, increase recycling and diversion from landfill. As announced in Defra's five year strategy on 8 December 2004, £5 million of the 2005–06 allocation will focus specifically on local authority incentives for households to recycle and reduce waste. This Grant replaces the waste performance reward grant. Details of the grant, including allocations to individual local authorities, were made available on 9 December, and no further announcements are planned.

Water and Sewerage Services

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average monthly cost to consumers is of (a) water services and (b) sewerage services in each water supply area in 2004–05 (i) in total and (ii) broken down by those who were (A) metered and (B) unmetered.

Elliot Morley: The following table shows the information for both metered and unmetered customers for water and sewerage services broken down by undertaker and in total. The figures are estimates based on forecast data provided to Ofwat by companies.
	
		
			 2004–05 Unmeasured water Measured water Total water Unmeasured sewerage Measured sewerage Total sewerage 
		
		
			 Water and sewerage companies 
			 Anglian 11.67 8.54 9.99 16.46 12.07 14.10 
			 Dwr Cymru 11.08 6.95 10.29 15.04 7.95 13.61 
			 North West 11.29 10.03 11.08 11.72 10.71 11.54 
			 Northumbrian (incl. Essex and Suffolk) 9.72 8.09 9.38 11.10 9.79 10.96 
			 Northumbrian 8.58 7.25 8.43 — — — 
			 Essex and Suffolk 12.04 8.50 10.80 — — — 
			 Severn Trent 10.11 8.37 9.69 8.88 8.27 8.74 
			 South West 12.57 8.30 10.64 23.97 14.28 19.45 
			 Southern 7.85 7.14 7.66 14.75 11.43 13.92 
			 Thames 9.51 8.47 9.30 8.11 7.92 8.07 
			 Wessex 11.42 8.44 10.44 13.39 10.18 12.51 
			 Yorkshire (incl. York) 10.14 8.36 9.67 11.03 8.79 10.44 
			 Yorkshire 10.28 8.41 9.77 — — — 
			 York 7.30 5.67 7.10 — — — 
			 Water only companies 
			 Bournemouth and W. Hampshire 9.56 7.21 8.69 — — — 
			 Bristol 9.27 8.62 9.12 — — — 
			 Cambridge 8.35 7.44 7.86 — — — 
			 Dee Valley 10.03 6.57 8.90 — — — 
			 Folkestone and Dover 13.17 9.93 11.88 — — — 
			 Mid Kent 11.60 9.32 10.86 — — — 
			 Portsmouth 6.40 6.98 6.42 — — — 
			 South East 11.32 9.52 10.80 — — — 
			 South Staffs 7.73 7.38 7.68 — — — 
			 Sutton and East Surrey 10.82 8.81 10.45 — — — 
			 Tendring Hundred 16.61 11.49 13.49 — — — 
			 Three Valleys (incl. North Surrey) 10.34 7.64 9.69 — — — 
			 Three Valleys 10.41 7.79 9.81 — — — 
			 North Surrey 9.95 7.02 9.08 — — —

DEFENCE

Army

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the size of the army will be after the proposed re-organisation; and what it was in 1997.

Geoff Hoon: The strength of the Army, including the Gurkhas, will remain broadly as it is today at around 103,500 until full normalisation is achieved in Northern Ireland, when we expect it to reduce to around 102,000.
	The corresponding figure for April 1997 was 101,360.

British Military Bases (US Missiles)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to require prior parliamentary approval of the placement of US interceptor missiles within British military bases.

Geoff Hoon: There has been no request from the United States Government to base interceptor missiles anywhere in the United Kingdom. It has not been the practice of successive administrations to seek parliamentary approval for decisions of this type. The Government would in any case seek to ensure that Parliament had adequate opportunity for debate on issues relating to missile defence.

Cyprus

Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) retained sites in Cyprus which the United Kingdom has returned since the written answer of 16 January 1995, Official Report, column 373W and (b) the location and function of each remaining retained site in Cyprus.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer17 January 2005
	The Larnaca bombing range is the only site that has been returned to the Republic of Cyprus since January 1995. This is identified as Serial B.8 on page 29 of the 1960 treaty documents, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
	The location and function of the remaining retained sites are as follows:
	
		
			 Serial Treaty designation  Location  Requirement 
		
		
			 1 A2 Troodos RAF Troodos signal station 
			 2 A3 Olympus Mount Olympus radar station 
			 3 A4 (part) Zygi Foreign Office Wireless Station 
			 4 A9 Famagusta Joint Services Port Unit. Not currently used as in Turkish Occupied Area 
			 5 A10/1 Nicosia RAF Nicosia Airfield and Camps. Not currently used by British Forces Cyprus (BFC) as located within Green Line. Some facilities used by UN 
			 6 A10/2 Nicosia Borehole and Easements providing water supply to RAF Nicosia. Not currently used by BFC as located within Green Line 
			 7 Bl/2 Limassol Berengaria water pipeline from Harakis borehole—see Serials 9 and 10 
			 8 C1 Troodos Troodos Leave Camp. Contiguous to Serial 1. The accommodation is used by BFC, visiting troops and youth services in support of adventurous training. Site also contains married-quarters, NAAFI and Works Unit 
			 9 C2/1 Limassol Berengaria Village married quarters—see Serials 7 and 10 
			 10 C2/2 Limassol Harakis borehole for Berengaria Village—see Serials 7 and 9 
			 11 C5 Kissousa The Kissousa water source provides a water supply for the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area 
			 12 C8/1 Famagusta Families Shop and NAAFI HQ. Not currently used as in Turkish Occupied Area 
			 13 C8/3 Famagusta NAAFI Transport Yard. Not currently used as in Turkish Occupied Area.

David Axon

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what regulations Commander David Axon was removed from HMS Somerset in November 2004; what charges were laid against him; what procedures were adopted to hear and adjudicate on these charges; and what actions were taken as a result.

Ivor Caplin: Commander David Axon was removed from command of HMS Somerset in December 2004 under regulation BR 8373, Article 2026, following allegations which constituted a breach of equal opportunities policy.
	The findings and recommendations of the investigation were considered and acted upon in accordance with the procedures defined within BR 8373, Articles 2027 and 2028.
	Commander Axon has now been re-appointed to a non-command post ashore.

Dolphins

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether dolphins have been (a) used and (b) kept by the UK armed forces since 1975.

Ivor Caplin: No.

Meteor Jet

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a decision has been made on the future of the remaining Meteor jet at Llanbedr airfield.

Ivor Caplin: Yes. The Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency sold the aircraft by competitive tender in November 2004 to Everett Engineers of Sproughton, Ipswich.

Infantry

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which infantry regiments have the best record of retained manpower in the last 12 months.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army medical personnel (a) have been and (b) are deployed in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: 1,325 Territorial Army (TA) medical personnel have been called up in support of operations in Iraq, and there are currently 75 TA medical personnel serving in Iraq.
	These figures include members of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) stopped searching for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction; what proportion of the ISG's cost was met by the United Kingdom; and what the total United Kingdom financial commitment, including salaries of British personnel involved, was to the ISG.

Geoff Hoon: Following the conclusions of the comprehensive report of the special adviser to the Director Central Intelligence published on 30 September 2004, the Iraq Survey Group is no longer conducting an active programme of field investigations into weapons of mass destruction, but it does continue to investigate information relating to WMD as it becomes available.
	The net additional cost of activities undertaken by UK personnel attached to the ISG has been met by the UK and is included in the published costs of Operation Telic. It is not possible to identify the net additional costs related solely to the work of the UK personnel in the ISG, or the proportion of total costs met by the UK.

Jake Shrof

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to investigate allegations of bullying and sexual assault made by former Coldstream Guardsman Jake Shrof.

Ivor Caplin: An investigation into these allegations was carried out by the Royal Military Police. The resulting report and supporting evidence was considered by the Army Prosecuting Authority who determined that there was insufficient evidence to direct trial by court martial.

Meteorological Office

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to review the financial resources available to the Meteorological Office; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Meteorological Office is a trading fund within the Ministry of Defence. It receives revenue through two main channels.
	The Government centrally funds the National Met Programme, which underpins the UK's meteorological capability. The programme and the resources required are agreed annually with the Met Office. The programme and the Met Office's performance is kept under review by an independent group of commissioners who represent the interests of all stakeholder departments. The commissioners report directly to me on a biannual basis, and contribute to the overall financial planning and resource allocation processes in the Ministry of Defence.
	It receives the second directly from customers in the public and private sectors, on agreed contractual terms. It is a matter for individual customer departments to keep the funds for their Met Office services under review in the course of normal business.
	In addition, the Met Office can if required seek loans or similar types of one-off financial support from the Ministry of Defence, as its parent department.

Private Terence Morrison

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what disciplinary action has been taken against Private Terence Morrison in connection with the attempted murder of a 14-year-old boy in Belfast on 6 November 2004; and in what regiment Private Morrison serves.

Ivor Caplin: This incident is subject to an investigation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and it would be inappropriate to comment further. In accordance with data protection legislation, it is not our policy to confirm the unit in which a named individual is serving.

Court Martial (RAF Aldergrove)

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the factors were that influenced his decision to locate at RAF Aldegrove the court martial of six Royal Marine instructors facing assault charges connected with their conduct at Lympstone, Devon.

Ivor Caplin: The Military Court Centre at Aldergrove was deemed to be the most appropriate venue to accommodate this trial. It is a purpose built courtroom with modern facilities and is sufficiently large enough to handle a trial involving six defendants, their counsel and numerous witnesses.

Sickness Absence

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days sick leave were taken by civil servants in the Department in each year since 1997; and what the sickness absence rate was in each year.

Ivor Caplin: The following tables show the numbers of days of sickness absence for non-industrials and industrials in the Ministry of Defence since 1997.
	
		Number of days' sickness absence and the sickness absence rate for non-industrial civil servants in the Ministry of Defence 1997–2003 and financial year 2003–04
		
			  Sickness absence (working days) Absence rate 
		
		
			 1997(7) 573,0003 (9)8.4 
			 1998(7) 571,0003 (9)8.6 
			 1999(8) 538,7004 (10)8.1 
			 2000(8) 520,1004 (10)7.9 
			 2001(11) No reliable data available — 
			 2002(8) (10)465,200 (10)7.3 
			 2003(8) (10)481,000 (10)7.6 
			 FY 2003–04(8) (10)494,100 (10)7.8 
		
	
	(7) Excludes non-industrial Ministry of Defence staff in Trading Funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. Rates are from the Annual Report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" which is published by the Cabinet Office.
	(8) Excludes non-industrial Ministry of Defence staff in Trading Funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. Rates are from UK Defence Statistics 2004 Table 2.35. Excludes obvious outliers.
	(9) The number of sickness days' absent is calculated using a staff year, which constitutes 225 working days (365 days less bank holidays, weekends and average annual leave) and corresponds to a full-time employee who has been continuously employed throughout the year. Those employees who have worked for only part of a year will be recorded as having worked a fraction of a staff year. For part-time staff, the staff year figure is based on the number of hours worked as a proportion of full-time hours.
	(10) Sickness absence days and rates are based on FTE working days lost. For example, if a part-time employee (working 50 per cent. full-time hours) is sick for seven calendar days, this is five working days lost and 2.5 FTE working days lost.
	(11) There is no sickness absence information for non-industrial Ministry of Defence staff available for 2001 for data quality reasons.
	
		Number of days' sickness absence and the sickness absence rate for industrial civil servants in the Ministry of Defence1997–2003 and financial year 2003–04
		
			  Sickness absence(12) (working days) Absence rate(12) 
		
		
			 1997(13) p337,100 p13.7 
			 1998(13) p376,800 p16.3 
			 1999(14) 320,900 12.9 
			 2000(15) No reliable data available — 
			 2001(14) 304,900 14.8 
			 2002(14) 259,700 14.8 
			 2003(14) 209,900 13.5 
			 FY 2003–04(14) 187,100 12.2 
		
	
	(12) Sickness absence days and rates are based on FTE working days lost. For example, if a part-time employee (working 50 per cent. full-time hours) is sick for seven calendar days, this is five working days lost and 2.5 FTE working days lost.
	(13) Excludes industrial Ministry of Defence Staff in Trading Funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. Sickness absence records for industrial staff are not as robust as for non-industrial staff and the early years are marked as provisional.
	(14) Excludes industrial Ministry of Defence Staff in Trading Funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. Rates are from UK Defence Statistics 2004 Table 2.35. Excludes obvious outliers.
	(15) There is no sickness absence information for industrial Ministry of Defence staff available for 2000 for data quality reasons.

Tanzania

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers have participated in adventure training exercises in Tanzania since 10 November 2004; and from which regiments.

Adam Ingram: Some nine members of the Light Dragoons participated in adventurous training in Tanzania between 11–16 November 2004. There has been no further adventurous training undertaken by the British Army in the country since that date.

TRANSPORT

Cycling

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to promote the integration of rail and cycle travel, with particular reference to off-peak periods; and what mechanisms exist for co-ordinating transport and public health policies in respect of cycling.

Charlotte Atkins: We expect train operators and Network Rail to encourage bike and rail journeys in order to enable the bicycle to be used as part of a longer journey and to reduce car use. The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) published their Cycling Policy last year. The policy states that:
	there should be cycle parking at most stations over the next five years, so that 95 per cent. of journeys originate from stations with cycle parking;
	train operators should carry bikes at all times, whilst accepting that this will not always be possible during peak periods.
	The Department is providing over £500,000 to improve cycle parking at stations where a pressing need has been identified and last year published, with the Countryside Agency, Bike and Rail—A Good Practice Guide.
	In light of its keen interest in both cycling and walking, the Department has been active in the development of public health policy. Ministers and officials were closely involved in cross-Government consideration of initiatives to raise levels of cycling, leading to commitments on cycle training and cycle commuting in the public health White Paper published in November last year. The Department of Health was also one of a number of Departments which contributed to Walking and Cycling: an Action Plan, published by the Department for Transport in June last year. The action plan contains more than 40 actions aimed at increasing cycling and walking, in light of the health, transport and environmental benefits.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost to his Department was for accountancy services in each of the last two years.

Charlotte Atkins: The departmental costs for accountancy services for the last two years are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
		
		
			 2002–3 13,122,749 
			 2003–4 16,242.636 
		
	
	The above costs include in-house services, out-sourced services and bought-in services.

DVLA

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from (a) the Local Government Association and (b) individual local authorities, urging a reduction in the time taken by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to contact the last registered owners of vehicles found with no road tax.

David Jamieson: I am not aware of any such representations.

DVLA

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average time taken by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to contact the last registered owners of vehicles found with no road tax was in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The majority of registered keepers of unlicensed vehicles are sent a letter offering them an opportunity to pay an out of court settlement 25 days after the vehicle was sighted on a public road. Generally the vehicle keepers are not contacted before the 25 days to allow for any delayed licence applications to update the vehicle record.

DVLA

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment has been made of the response times of the (a) online and (b) telephone renewal system of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

David Jamieson: DVLA is currently in negotiations with its service providers to develop a process, which will allow the agency to measure the response times of the online service. DVLA is also working on developing a response time report for the telephone renewal system. These arrangements are expected to be in place by early summer.

DVLA

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the (a) online service and (b) the automatic telephone system at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has failed to recognise its relicensing numbers since the system was established.

David Jamieson: The current relicensing period runs from the fifteenth day of the month in which the current licence expires. If a customer uses their relicensing number prior to the 15th of the month the system will not recognise it as the application has been made too early. Information on the number of times the system failed to recognise the relicensing number is not available.

Operational Improvements (Marlow)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the statement by the hon. Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Charlotte Atkins) of 11 January 2005, Official Report, column 22WH, on operational improvements in Marlow, what assessment he has made of the improvements needed; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 17 January 2005
	No assessment has been made yet as the line has not been designated as a community railway, but the objective would be to provide greater capacity and flexibility in the operation of the line to Maidenhead.

Railways

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many passengers used Maidenhead station in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004, broken down by (i) morning peak hours, (ii) evening peak hours and (iii) off-peak hours;
	(2)  how many passengers used Twyford Station in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004, broken down by (i) morning peak hours, (ii) evening peak hours and (iii) off-peak hours.

Tony McNulty: Analysis by First Great Western, of tickets sold shows the following passenger journeys to and from both stations to all destinations for the 36 weeks from 1 April 2004 to 11 December 2004. These are based on the train operating company's ticket sales and the numbers of passenger journeys associated with them. Figures for earlier years and for journeys between Twyford and Maidenhead stations are not readily available.
	
		
			  Total Passenger Journeys (i) morning peak hours (percentage) (ii) evening peak hours percentage) (iii) off-peak hours (percentage) 
		
		
			 From Maidenhead 1,494,782
			 To Maidenhead 824,604
			 Maidenhead Total 2,319,386 32 31 37 
			  
			 From Twyford 649,244
			 To Twyford 111,650.
			 Twyford Total 760,894 35 30 34

Railways

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations his Department has received regarding the December timetable changes on routes from Paddington to Maidenhead and Twyford, broken down by (a) those in favour of the changes and (b) those opposed to the changes.

Tony McNulty: Timetable changes on services to and from London Paddington were consulted on by the Strategic Rail Authority in early 2004. The majority of stakeholders recognised the benefits of the overall package of measures. Since that time, available records show the Department for Transport has received one formal representation opposing the changes to timetables on routes from Paddington to Maidenhead and Twyford, along with a small volume of correspondence regarding services on the route more generally.

Railways

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines his Department has issued on the maximum acceptable density of commuter rail passengers measured by number of passengers per square foot.

Tony McNulty: The Department has issued no such guidelines. Train operating companies, when calculating capacity for peak period services use a figure of 0.45 sq metres per standing passenger, and any counts which show that they are exceeding this figure will result in the Strategic Rail Authority asking them to look at ways of reducing the passenger loadings on their trains.

Railways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he supports the recent proposals put forward to his Department by contractors to open rural stations and halts with short platforms.

Tony McNulty: The Department is not aware of any such proposals. In September 2004 the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) published its "New Stations: A Guide for Promoters", copies of which are in the Library of the House. All proposals for new railway stations will be assessed using the criteria specified in this guide.

Railways

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the punctuality of railway service providers.

Tony McNulty: Rail Performance Statistics are published quarterly by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) in "National Rail Trends". The most recent edition was published in December 2004. Copies of "National Rail Trends" are placed in the House of Commons Library and published on the SRA's website.
	The moving annual average of the public performance measure was 81.8 per cent. at 30 September 2004.

Railways

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to improve facilities at (a) Romford and (b) Gidea Park train stations; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Romford and Gidea Park stations are managed on a day-to-day basis by ONE railway. I understand that ONE are committed to investing £11.3 million in station improvements over the course of the franchise. Details of this spend and their priorities are currently being identified and developed. There are no immediate plans to provide new facilities at these stations.

Railways

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the potential to increase the amount of freight carried on the rail network in the south-east of England; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority has considered the key rail freight markets of coal, automotive, metals, petroleum and petroleum products, and general freight in a series of market studies across the UK. These seek to explore underlying trends and forecasted growth in these markets, and have assessed the potential implications and opportunities for rail freight. Summaries of these market studies are published on the SRA freight customer website http://www.railfreightonline.com/news/marketresearch, and will be made available in the Libraries of the House.
	A further market research study summary of aggregates is soon to be posted at the same website address, and will be made available in the Libraries of the House.

Roads

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many major road developments have not been the subject of a public inquiry in the last five years.

David Jamieson: In the last five years one major road development has not been the subject of a public inquiry—M11 Stansted Slips. As there were no unresolved objections to the scheme, a public inquiry was not required.

Roads

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what criteria were applied when his Department first separated trunk roads into national and regional schemes;
	(2)  which trunk roads have been downgraded from national to regional significance in the last 10 years; and what consultation took place on this issue.

David Jamieson: The Government's consultation paper—"Devolving Decision Making: A Consultation on Regional Funding Allocations"—set out our proposals to establish regional transport funding allocations.
	The consultation paper explained that the proposed regional transport funding allocations would initially bring together capital funding projected for major schemes (generally costing over £5 million each) under the Local Transport Plan (LTP) system and for major Highways Agency schemes, other than those on routes of national and international significance. To be regarded as being of national and international significance, a route has to satisfy all the following criteria:
	to have average daily traffic flows, along the length of the route, of more than 60,000 vehicles;
	to link at least two of the top 20 English cities by population; or link one of the top 20 cities with an airport/seaport or Wales/Scotland;
	to carry heavy goods vehicle traffic equal to or in excess of 15 per cent. as a percentage of all traffic, as an average along the length of the route; and
	to be represented on the European Union's trans-European transport network
	In some cases these criteria were applied with a degree of flexibility.
	A map illustrating the application of these criteria to the trunk road network was provided as part of the current consultation exercise.
	These proposals will not lead to a downgrading in the importance of certain routes. The proposed regional funding allocations will give regions a far stronger base on which to plan, and will enable them to contribute to decisions that better reflect regional priorities.

Roads

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the working of the regional decision-making process in relation to the roads programme, with particular reference to the south-west.

David Jamieson: holding answer 18 January 2005
	The detailed arrangements for the submission of advice to the Department from the region on the prioritisation of road schemes in their area will be announced in due course and will be subject to the outcome of the current consultation about long term funding guidelines. Copies of the consultation document "Devolving decision making: a consultation on regional funding allocations" are available in the House Libraries. We look forward to receiving the views of regional and local bodies in the south-west and other regions on the consultation document.
	Under the proposals in the document, the Regional Assembly and the Regional Development Agency in each region would advise on the relative priority of road schemes alongside other transport proposals in the region and on the basis of long term regional funding guidelines. These bodies would be expected to consult widely within the region, including with local transport authorities, in framing their advice on priorities.

State Opening

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the cost to the economy of the disruption to traffic caused by the State Opening of Parliament.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport has not undertaken any analysis of the cost to the economy of the disruption to traffic caused by the State Opening of Parliament. It is thought to be minimal.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Departmental Staff

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of his Department's staff is based in London.

Fiona Mactaggart: The following table gives a breakdown by administrative division within the Home Office as at April 2004.
	
		
			 Department London All areas Percentage London 
		
		
			 Home Office main (excluding agencies) 11,500 18,780 61 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 0 340 0 
			 Forensic Science Service 730 2,450 29.8 
			 United Kingdom Passport Agency 570 2,450 23.3 
			 Assets Recovery Agency 60 90 66.7 
			 Charity Commission 150 540 27.8 
			 HM Prison Service 6,200 45,290 13.7 
			 Grand total Home Office 19,210 69,940 27.5 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are permanent and full-time equivalent, rounded.

Fingerprinting

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fingerprint reading machines linked to the National Fingerprint Register are operated by police forces in the UK; and how many checks were carried out in each year since these machines became available.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 10 January 2005
	At present there are 198 Livescan Units in use in police forces in England and Wales, linked to the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) to take fingerprints from arrestees.
	The number of identity checks 1 and submissions 2 carried out since the introduction of Livescan in England and Wales is as follows.
	1 An "identity check" is where a police officer takes the fingerprints of a person in custody only to check whether a record exists on the NAFIS Database.
	2 A "submission" is where the prints take from the-person in custody, is recorded on the NAFIS database and creates a Police National Computer (PNC) record. This process still includes an identity check.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000 1,690 
			 2001 102,099 
			 2002 343,692 
			 2003 524,729 
			 2004 703,626 
		
	
	The steady increase in the number of fingerprints taken reflects the increasing use by forces of the technology.
	I understand from the Scottish Executive that police forces in Scotland started using Livescan Units in August 1997. There are now 33 Livescan Units in use by Scottish forces.
	The number of identity checks and submissions carried out is:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 50,938 
			 1998–99 65,368 
			 1999–2000 68,000 
			 2000–01 60,792 
			 2001–02 61,349 
			 2002–03 60,467 
			 2003–04 64,735 
			 2004–05 (to 31 December 2004) 54,638 
		
	
	The Police Service of Northern Ireland is currently piloting the use of Livescan technology. One machine has been installed at a police station in Belfast, and has been operational since 4 October 2004. Between 4 October 2004 and 10 January 2005 this machine handled 200 identity checks and submissions. The results of the pilot scheme will be analysed and decisions on expanding the use of the technology will be taken in light of that analysis.

Prisons

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers quarters' are owned by the prison department at prisons in England and Wales.

Paul Goggins: Her Majesty's Prison Service, for England and Wales, currently owns about 550 prison officer quarters.

Race Relations (Sikhs)

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Sikh organisations he met in each of the last three years.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 20 December 2004
	The information requested is as follows:
	On Friday 14 January 2005 I met the Councils of Sikh Gurdwaras.
	On 19 October 2004 I spoke at the 400th anniversary celebration of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib in the House of Lords on behalf of my right hon. Friend the former Home Secretary member for Sheffield Brightside (David Blunkett).
	As part of my constituency duties I met the Sikh Remembrance Lobby in November 2004.
	In July I attended the launch of Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail where I also met representatives of the Network of Sikh Organisations and Sikhs in England.
	In October 2003 I met a delegation co-ordinated by the British Sikh Consultative Forum to discuss a range of issues facing the Sikh community.
	I have twice met a senior representative of the British Sikh Consultative Forum. On a number of occasions I have met Dr. Indarjit Singh, a prominent figure within the Sikh community and a member of the Steering Group for the Review of the Government's engagement with faith communities, which I chaired.
	My predecessor, Lord Filkin, visited a Sikh temple in Birmingham in February 2003. He had a meeting with representatives of various Sikh groupings in July 2002 and dinner with the Sikh Human Rights Group in March 2002

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Civil Service Salaries

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average annual increase in gross salary was for the year 2003–04 for (a) staff below the Senior Civil Service and (b) the Senior Civil Service in her Department.

Derek Twigg: In my Department, the average annual increase in gross salary for the year 2003–04 for staff below the Senior Civil Service was £988 (3.42 per cent.) 1 . For the Senior Civil Service, the average annual increase was £2,624 (3,59 per cent.).
	1 The calculation includes permanent and temporary staff on a full time equivalent basis.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will reply to the letter dated 3 December 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Paul Jackson.

Derek Twigg: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State replied to the right hon. Member's letter dated 7 December on 14 January.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the running costs of the Department were in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) electricity, (b) water, (c) gas, (d) telephones, (e) mobile telephones and (f) televisions.

Stephen Twigg: The information for my Department is as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Financial year Electricity Water Gas Telephones Mobile phones Televisions 
		
		
			 2003–04 891,856 101,974 129,767 2,402,107 270,547 (16)— 
			 2002–03 916,600 131,969 132,642 1,981,214 353,955 (16)— 
			 2001–02 936,193 146,839 143,222 2,924,221 374,248 (16)— 
			 2000–01 836,678 108,331 116,990 3,076,291 329,196 (16)— 
			 1999–2000 1,000,879 121,895 84,643 2,975,587 218,889 (16)— 
			 1998–99 (16)— (16)— (16)— (16)— 168,298 (16)— 
			 1997–98 (16)— (16)— (16)— (16)— 170,045 (16)— 
		
	
	(16)—=This information is not held centrally and it would require a departmental trawl, at disproportionate cost.

Electronic Devices

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many electronic devices are owned by the Department, broken down by type.

Derek Twigg: The number of electronic devices owned by the Department for Education and Skills by type is:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Mobile phones 1,140 
			 Personal computers 6,013 
			 Laptop computers 2,351 
			 File servers 651 
			 Printers/scanners 1,755

IT Projects

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list her Department's IT projects in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) amount spent, (b) purpose, (c) cost of over-run and (d) time of over-run.

Derek Twigg: Due to disproportionate costs, it is not possible to provide a full list for all years from 1997 and nor can I include every project with a significant IT element. I have included a list of the Department's internal IT projects from 1999–2000 onwards at Annex 1 and a list of internet customer portal projects at Annex 2.
	
		Annex 1
		
			 Project Purpose Launch date Amount spent (£000) Overrun Overrun cost 
		
		
			 Inter-site network improvements To modernise communication links between DfES HQ buildings for use by computer systems. Due by March 2005 1,255 None Nil 
			 CHS IT system to support a Government requirement for dealing with all correspondence within agreed targets. May 2000 664 None Nil 
			 DIAS Protection of DfES computer systems by the establishment of a discrete development and testing environment for 3rd party suppliers. March 2004 317 None Nil 
			 Dual Data Centre Introduction of disaster recovery facilities for key departmental computer systems. March 2004 3,940 3 months Nil 
			 EDRMS IT system to support a Government requirement for efficient document and record management and compliance with Freedom of Information Act Ongoing 4,500 On schedule Nil 
			 Electronic Boardrooms Presentation equipment installed in all Df ES conference suites. June 2001 337 None Nil 
			 Email system improvements Modernisation of the DfES internal email system November 2004 525 1 month Nil 
			 Internet Giving DfES staff and computer systems access to important Internet based research and information services March 2000 140 None Nil 
			 Intranet Delivering an internal Intranet service for DfES staff to improve communications and information sharing and ongoing improvements Ongoing 176 None Nil 
			 Internal data networks To improve computer networks and cabling infrastructure within DfES HQ sites June 2004 1,019 None Nil 
			 Legacy Systems Modernisation of key departmental information systems to ensure their continued viability. March 2004 435 None Nil 
			 Machinery of Government Transfer of key information systems to DfES as a result of changes in ministerial responsibilities March 2004 840 None Nil 
			 PCTV Introduction of an internal TV communications medium for DfES. March 2000 150 None Nil 
			 Remote Working Introduction of flexible home working facilities for DfES staff and the provision of laptops for key workers August 2000 880 2 months Nil 
			 Remote Working enhancements Introduction of broadband facilities for home working. March 2005 415 On-time Nil 
			 Services Zone Improving internal efficiency by providing online access to the booking and use of DfES corporate services October 2004 520 None Nil 
			 Video conferencing Modernisation of DfES videoconferencing network enabling reduced costs due to less need to travel April 2004 1998 2 months Nil 
			 Y2K Ensuring the Year 2000 compliance of all DfES information systems December 1999 139 None Nil 
		
	
	
		Annex 2—Customer portal projects(£000)
		
			 Portal project Purpose 2002–03 2003–04 Spend at launch 
		
		
			 HE students To bring together in one place all relevant information and services to enable students to make effective choices and decisions. 140 70 210 
			 School governors To bring together information that a new, experienced or prospective School Governor would need to carry out their role. 280 — 280 
			 Young people To provide young people with a wide range of impartial, user-friendly information from across the public and voluntary sectors. 105 288 393 
			 Parents To provide information and services to encourage the engagement of parents and carers in supporting their child's education. 185 — 185 
			 Employers To improve employer engagement by providing information that helps employers make better informed decisions about developing their workforce. 156 — 156 
			 Teachers To provide information and services that help teaching staff make best use of their time 280 — 280 
			 Adult learners To provide information and services that encourage greater participation in lifelong learning. 200 — 200

School Computers

Mark Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on computers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Stoke on Trent in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: I refer my hon. Friend to "Funding for ICT in Schools in England" which is available in the House Library.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the property belonging to her Department that has been (a) stolen and (b) reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article.

Derek Twigg: The following table details the equipment belonging to the Department for Education and Skills reported as stolen and lost in each year since 1 May 1997 along with the approximate value of the stolen equipment.
	
		
			 Description Number of items Approximate value per item (£) Total approximate value (£) 
		
		
			 Financial year 1997–98 
			 Laptop PC 5 1,000 5,000 
			 Printer 2 300 600 
			 PC chips 4 125 500 
			 PC hard drive 1 900 900 
			 IT kit 13 1,035 13,455 
			 Power drill 2 145 290 
			 CCTV camera 1 1,000 1,000 
			 Mobile phone 1 200 200 
			 Total   21,945 
			 
			 Financial year 1998–99 
			 Laptop PC 7 1,000 7,000 
			 Palmtop PC 1 250 250 
			 PC chips From 205 PCs 423.57 86,831 
			 Total   94,081 
			 
			 Financial year 1999–2000 
			 Laptop PC 5 1,000 5,000 
			 Palmtop PC 1 250 250 
			 PC processing unit 2 1,000 2,000 
			 Mobile phone 1 60 60 
			 Total   7,310 
			 Financial year 2000–01 
			 Laptop PC 2 1,000 2,000 
			 Palm Pilot PC 1 300 300 
			 Nokia WAP phone 1 200 200 
			 Mobile phone and charger1 100 100 
			 Total   2,600 
			 
			 Financial year 2001–02 
			 Laptop PC 3 1,000 3,000 
			 Mobile phone 2 100 200 
			 Video phone 1 200 200 
			 Phone charger 1 25 25 
			 Dictaphone 1 40 40 
			 Chair 1 80 80 
			 Total   3,545 
			 
			 Financial year 2002–03 
			 Mobile phone 4 102.50 410 
			 Headphone 1 10 10 
			 Digital camera 1 200 200 
			 Total   620 
			 
			 Financial year 2003–04 
			 PC chips 94 30 2,820 
			 Data projector 2 2,760 5,520 
			 Laptop PC 8 1,326.58 10,612.64 
			 Mobile phone 7 91.43 640 
			 Digital voice recorder 1 100 100 
			 PC carrying case 1 30 30 
			 Wall clock 1 5 5 
			 Desk phone 1 113.40 113.40 
			 Total   19,841 
			 
			 Financial year 2004–05 
			 Laptop PC 4 1,326.58 5,306 
			 Palmtop PDA PC 1 350 350 
			 Scanner cable 1 20 20 
			 Wireless router 1 100 100 
			 Digital camera 1 300 300 
			 Mobile phone 6 33.34 200 
			 Total   6,276

Telephone Numbers

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much revenue her Department has received from the use of non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers for the period 1 October 2003 to 30 September.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 20 December
	The Department for Education and Skills does not participate in revenue share schemes associated with 0870 telephone numbers and therefore derives no revenue from the use of these numbers.

Telephone Numbers

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers are in use by her Department; and what services can be accessed by calling each of them.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills has eight non-geographic 0870 numbers in use as follows (number of lines in brackets):
	Main DfES switchboard number (1)
	Public Communications Unit (PCU) (1)
	Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) (1)
	Special Educational Needs Tribunal (SEN Tribunal) (5).

NORTHERN IRELAND

Decommissioning

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent developments there have been on decommissioning in Northern Ireland.

Ian Pearson: There have been four acts of decommissioning to date. The latest act occurred on 21 October 2003, when the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning reported that it had witnessed a third event in which IRA weapons were put beyond use. The Prime Minister made it clear at Leeds Castle that the Government regards the completion of decommissioning by paramilitary groups as essential to progress in Northern Ireland.

Peace Process

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the peace process.

Mr. Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the oral answer I gave earlier today.

Bank Security

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to encourage banks and other premises where large amounts of cash are held to increase security.

Ian Pearson: I met with the chief executives of the four main banks in Northern Ireland last week to discuss how security systems can be further enhanced. I have asked the Armed Robbery Expert Group of the Organised Crime Task Force to look urgently at the lessons to be learned from this robbery and to report at the next meeting of the OCTF. The banks and other major financial institutions already meet regularly with the police to discuss crime prevention.

Education

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to broaden the types of religious and other value systems education available in schools in Northern Ireland.

Barry Gardiner: The religious education core syllabus is intended to comprise about half of the teaching time for RE, allowing schools scope to include other religions and value systems if they wish. I am awaiting proposals from the Churches for a revised core syllabus, which will also address the study of other world religions. In addition, citizenship education, which will cover issues such as religious diversity, is currently being piloted and will become compulsory from September 2006.

Paramilitary Organisations

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of recent illegal activity by paramilitary organisations; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: There is no doubt that paramilitary organisations continue to engage in illegal activity. The IMC report which was published on 4 November 2004 provided a clear assessment of the extent of the involvement of both loyalist and republican paramilitary organisations in organised crime and other forms of criminality. The Government have consistently made it clear that there can be absolutely no place for terrorist activity or criminal activity and I call on all paramilitary groups to cease all their activities.

Paramilitary Organisations

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people linked to (a) loyalist paramilitary organisations, (b) republican paramilitary organisations and (c) criminal gangs have been investigated by the Assets Recovery Agency; and what the most recent figures are for the proportion of investigations in each case which led to recovery of assets.

Ian Pearson: As at 10 January 2005, 15 cases relating to individuals believed to have links to loyalist groups and 12 cases relating to individuals believed to have links to republican groups have been referred to the Assets Recovery Agency. A further 25 cases relating to individuals from a general criminal or organised criminal background have also been referred.
	Of those referrals, 39 cases are in assessment, under active investigation or under settlement and it is not appropriate for Government to comment on on-going investigations. Funds will be recovered when proceedings have successfully concluded and assets liquidated. The agency has frozen around £3.5 million of assets in a total of nine cases, including the Johnson case, which involves £1.25 million worth of assets, and is being liquidated.

Sinn Fein

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the willingness of Sinn Fein to pursue its political agenda by solely peaceful and legal means.

Paul Murphy: All political parties in Northern Ireland must pursue their political aims by exclusively peaceful and democratic means. Without that being demonstrably the case, restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly is not possible. I have made it clear that decisions and responses are now needed from Sinn Fein and the IRA. I shall also consider carefully the next report to the British and Irish Governments by the Independent Monitoring Commission.

Intelligence

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Chief Constable about improving the intelligence gathering capacity of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in respect of criminal activity by paramilitary organisations.

Ian Pearson: The Chief Constable and I meet on a regular basis to discuss security related issues, including intelligence matters.
	The Police Service of Northern Ireland uses the national intelligence model to manage the gathering, analysis and dissemination of intelligence. This relates to all levels of criminality from serious and organised crime to volume crime. As with all such systems, it is constantly reviewed for effectiveness.
	The Chief Constable has fully implemented the Patten recommendations in relation to Special Branch and a new Crime Operations Department has been created. This ensures that there is effective sharing of intelligence information with those investigating organised crime.

Intelligence

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how often he receives intelligence briefings from the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Paul Murphy: I have formal meetings on a variety of security related issues with the Chief Constable and the GOC together with regular informal discussions which are informed by the full range of information at PSNI's disposal.

Andersonstown News Group

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received from other newspaper and media groups in Northern Ireland concerning financial assistance to the Andersonstown News Group; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: James Fitzpatrick, Chairman of the Irish News Ltd. wrote to me on 4 October 2004 in relation to the Andersonstown News Group's proposed launch of "Daily Ireland", a new daily newspaper. I wrote to Mr. Fitzpatrick on 11 November 2004 offering a meeting but to date that offer has not been taken up.

Assets Recovery Agency

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Assets Recovery Agency has recovered from (a) Loyalist and (b) Republican sources in each year since its formation; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: As at 10 January 2005, 15 cases relating to individuals believed to have links to loyalist groups and 12 cases relating to individuals believed to have links to republican groups have been referred to the Assets Recovery Agency. A further 25 cases relating to individuals from a general criminal or organised criminal background have also been referred.
	Of those referrals, 39 cases are in assessment, under active investigation or under settlement and it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on ongoing investigations. Funds will be recovered when proceedings have successfully concluded and assets liquidated. The agency has frozen around £3.5 million of assets in a total of nine cases, including the Johnson case, which involves £1.25 million worth of assets, and is being liquidated.

Child Support Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been referred to the independent case examiner so far in 2004–05 in respect of (a) the Eastern Business Unit and (b) the Northern Ireland Operations of the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency.

John Spellar: The Independent Case Examiner does not accept complaints where the agency has not previously had the opportunity to respond. During 2004–05, 579 complaints relating to Eastern Business Unit's cases were referred but 311 were not accepted. During 2004–05, 38 complaints were referred to the Independent Case Examiner regarding Northern Ireland cases. Of these, 17 were not accepted.

Community Relations

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on community relations by each Northern Ireland district council in each of the last five years; and what proportion of each district council area's total spending in each year these figures represent.

Angela Smith: The figures requested are available only for 2002–03 and 2003–04. Details of community relations expenditure, total gross expenditure and community relations expenditure expressed as a proportion of total gross expenditure for each of the 26 district councils are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  2002–03 
			 District council Community relations expenditure (£) Total gross expenditure (£) Community relations expenditure as percentage of total gross expenditure (percentage) 
		
		
			 Antrim 61,853 11,489,836 0.5383 
			 Ards 115,322 19,877,085 0.5802 
			 Armagh 122,797 13,942,950 0.8807 
			 Ballymena 119,271 17,402,880 0.6854 
			 Ballymoney 99,324 6,100,350 1.6282 
			 Banbridge 118,186 10,152,747 1.1641 
			 Belfast 4,028 94,869,362 0.0042 
			 Carrickfergus 85,692 10,342,624 0.8285 
			 Castlereagh 90,151 15,660,030 0.5757 
			 Coleraine 98,289 17,036,576 0.5769 
			 Cookstown 139,759 7,230,614 1.9329 
			 Craigavon 7,697 21,251,805 0.0362 
			 Perry 228,772 33,793,461 0.6770 
			 Down 125,820 19,202,752 0.6552 
			 Dungannon 109,999 8,926,320 1.2323 
			 Fermanagh 129,337 10,774,469 1.2004 
			 Larne 87,717 8,677,360 1.0109 
			 Limavady 95,674 6,538,831 1.4632 
			 Lisburn 87,231 25,207,008 0.3461 
			 Magherafelt 74,180 9,089,559 0.8161 
			 Moyle 71,270 6,591,136 1.0813 
			 Newry and Mourne 82,515 19,654,272 0.4198 
			 Newtownabbey 93,925 27,186,215 0.3455 
			 North Down 71,844 17,280,732 0.4157 
			 Omagh 196,470 12,153,629 . 1.6166 
			 Strabane 126,873 7,850,047 1.6162 
			 Total 2,643,996 458,282,650 0.5769 
		
	
	
		
			  2003–04 
			 District council Community relations expenditure (£) Total gross expenditure (£) Community relations expenditure as percentage of total gross expenditure (percentage) 
		
		
			 Antrim 62,046 11,708,695 0.5299 
			 Ards 69,281 17,437,239 0.3973 
			 Armagh 152,588 13,878,196 1.0995 
			 Ballymena 137,838 16,684,594 0.8261 
			 Ballymoney 103,974 7,008,080 1.4836 
			 Banbridge 120,613 10,430,855 1.1563 
			 Belfast 0 103,495,968 0.0000 
			 Carrickfergus 79,836 10,331,253 0.7728 
			 Castlereagh 115,569 15,463,248 0.7474 
			 Coleraine 92,340 17,045,260 0.5417 
			 Cookstown 157,542 7,895,927 1.9952 
			 Craigavon 19,083 22,662,649 0.0842 
			 Perry 192,123 33,575,840 0.5722 
			 Down 127,666 20,590,764 0.6200 
			 Dungannon 113,457 9,745,289 1.1642 
			 Fermanagh 127,998 11,449,703 1.1179 
			 Larne 66,199 9,084,108 0.7287 
			 Limavady 104,673 7,855,498 1.3325 
			 Lisburn 88,988 27,580,155 0.3227 
			 Magherafelt 90,657 9,396,555 0.9648 
			 Moyle 65,355 6,526,117 1.0014 
			 Newry and Mourne 94,840 21,360,516 0.4440 
			 Newtownabbey 52,937 22,513,277 0.2351 
			 North Down 93,699 19,285,745 0.4858 
			 Omagh 115,465 13,175,731 0.8763 
			 Strabane 124,445 8,421,058 1.4778 
			 Total 2,569,212 474,602,320 0.5413

Down District Council

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) Roman Catholics and (b) Protestants constituted the workforce of Down district council in each of the past 10 years; how many (i) jobs were advertised and (ii) vacancies were filled by Protestants in each year.

Angela Smith: The information requested has been provided by Down district council but is available for the past seven years only. The detail is set out in the following table. A substantial number of the jobs advertised during 1997, 1998 and 1999 relate to temporary employment during the summer period (but are not included in the figures). From 2000 to date these temporary positions are filled through an agency arrangement and are not, therefore, advertised by the council.
	
		
			  Protestants Catholics Jobs advertised Vacancies filled by Protestants 
		
		
			 1997 64 171 128 22 
			 1998 73 174 128 27 
			 1999 77 194 72 13 
			 2000 74 189 20 3 
			 2001 78 230 63 17 
			 2002 76 219 36 11 
			 2003 69 222 38 8

Economic Vision Document

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the timetable is for the publication of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's Economic Vision for Northern Ireland document; and what (a) internal and (b) external consultation will take place on this document.

Barry Gardiner: The draft Economic Vision for Northern Ireland was published for consultation on 12 October 2004 alongside the draft Priorities and Budget 2005–08 and the Northern Ireland Civil Service reform document "Fit for Purpose". The consultation period ended on 7 December 2004 and it is anticipated that the final Vision document will be published in February 2005.
	Ongoing internal consultation took place across all NI Departments both prior to and during the formal consultation period.
	In terms of external consultation, the draft Economic Vision was sent to some 2,000 recipients as part of the wider Priorities and Budget 2005–08 formal consultation process and meetings were also held with a number of external stakeholders. In addition, I am arranging meetings to be held in the next few weeks with the economic spokespersons of the five main political parties and the Economic Development Forum to discuss the emerging Vision document and the way forward.

GCSEs

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average GCSE points scores for each school type in Northern Ireland, excluding GNVQ Part One qualifications and GCSE short courses, have been in each year since 2000.

Barry Gardiner: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Average point score 
			 School type 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Controlled 32.6 33.3 32.9 33.0 
			 Voluntary 56.5 56.1 57.1 57.5 
			 Catholic maintained 26.6 26.8 27.4 27.2 
			 Other maintained 31.9 38.5 33.2 38.0 
			 Controlled integrated 28.1 28.7 31.1 29.7 
			 Grant maintained integrated 32.2 31.9 33.1 34.1 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures for 2003/04 are not yet available.

Harland and Wolff Catalogue

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken by (a) Museums and Galleries Northern Ireland and (b) the Public Records Office Northern Ireland to catalogue the Harland and Wolff working drawings for ships acquired in 2002; and what steps have been taken to provide public access to these documents.

Angela Smith: Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland (MAGNI) have been engaged over an extended period in identifying drawings at risk. The priority has been to secure, preserve and catalogue the vast number of drawings in existence. The material collected in 2002 is included in this exercise. In parallel with this, MAGNI has initiated a programme of copying and digitisation of key drawings, the longer term aim of which is to provide enhanced public access to the drawings. Some of the drawings are currently on display in the Titanic Exhibition at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
	The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has a small group of ships' drawings—86 in all from 1956–76—which are all catalogued and available for public access.

Hospital Cleaners

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cleaners are employed at each hospital in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		Number of domestic cleaning staff employed at each hospital in Northern Ireland
		
			 Hospital Headcount Whole-time equivalent 
		
		
			 Altnagelvin Area Hospital 101 69.65 
			 Antrim Area Hospital 287 171.54 
			 Ards Hospital 27 11.96 
			 Banbridge Polyclinic 1 0.87 
			 Bangor Hospital 8 4.78 
			 Belfast City Hospital 204 40.41 
			 Causeway Hospital 75 38.88 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital 157 76.00 
			 Daisy Hill Hospital 66 36.45 
			 Dalriada Hospital 10 5.91 
			 Downe Hospital 18 14.93 
			 Downshire Hospital 38 25.48 
			 Erne Hospital 74 40.57 
			 Forster Green Hospital 24 20.66 
			 Gransha Hospital 39 25.50 
			 Holywell Hospital 69 49.57 
			 Lagan Valley Hospital 59 39.15 
			 Longstone 46 21.19 
			 Lurgan Hospital 18 8.17 
			 Mater Hospital 100 71.00 
			 Muckamore Hospital 80 56.00 
			 Mullinure 13 9.89 
			 Musgrave Park Hospital 124 81.15 
			 Purdysburn Hospital 83 54.34 
			 Robinson Hospital 5 3.10 
			 Royal Hospital 511 323.73 
			 South Tyrone 20 11.83 
			 St. Lukes 48 27.22 
			 Stradreagh Hospital 7 4.80 
			 Thompson House Hospital 7 3.39 
			 Tyrone County Hospital 48 26.50 
			 Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital54 33.20 
			 Ulster Hospital 300 97.34 
			 Waterside Hospital 12 9.30 
			 Whiteabbey Hospital 3 2.07 
			 Total 2,736 1,516.53 
		
	
	Source:
	NI HSS Trusts

Hospital Cleaners

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cleaners were employed (a) at hospitals in Northern Ireland and (b) elsewhere within the local NHS in (i) 1985 and (ii) 1995.

Angela Smith: Not all trusts were able to provide historic staffing figures for the time periods requested. Of those that were, the information is provided in the tables.
	
		Number of domestic cleaning staff employed in hospitals in Northern Ireland in 1985 and 1995
		
			  1985 1995 
			 Hospital Headcount WTE Headcount WTE 
		
		
			 Banbridge Hospital n/a n/a 14 5.69 
			 Belfast City Hospital n/a n/a 264 155.57 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 42 31.48 65 38.46 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital n/a n/a 102 60.00 
			 Greenpark HSS Trust 239 175.50 124 78.34 
			 Homefirst Community  Trust n/a n/a 99 60.59 
			 Lurgan Hospital n/a n/a 15 5.30 
			 Muckamore Hospital n/a n/a 115 78.02 
			 Royal Hospital n/a n/a 565 365.00 
		
	
	n/a = Information not available.
	Source:
	NI HSS Trusts
	
		Number of domestic cleaning staff employed elsewhere within the local NHS in 1985 and 1995
		
			  1985 1995 
			  Headcount WTE Headcount WTE 
		
		
			 Trust 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 21 13.35 25 13.22 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Comm. n/a n/a 23 15.88 
			  
			 HSS Trust 
			 Homefirst Community Trust n/a n/a 101 42.88 
			 North and West Belfast Trust n/a n/a 90 47.24 
		
	
	n/a = Information not available.
	Source:
	NI HSS Trusts

Hospital Cleaners

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at which health trusts in the Province cleaning services are (a) outsourced, (b) directly managed and (c) a combination of outsourced and directly managed.

Angela Smith: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		Health trusts in Northern Ireland where cleaning services are (a) outsourced, (b) directly managed and (c) a combination of outsourced and directly managed
		
			 NI HPSS Trust Cleaning services outsourced Cleaning services directly managed Combination 
		
		
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust Yes — — 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Causeway HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust — — Yes 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust Yes — — 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust — — Yes 
			 Greenpark Healthcare HSS Trust Yes — — 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust — — Yes 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust — Yes — 
			 Total 3 12 3 
		
	
	Source:
	NI HSS Trusts

Inward Investment (Strabane)

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what additional industrial space is available to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in the Strabane district council area to facilitate inward investment.

Barry Gardiner: The Orchard Road Industrial Estate, owned by Invest Northern Ireland, holds the majority of available industrial space in Strabane. On this estate Invest NI currently has two sites available for allocation to its client companies, comprising four acres in total. Also on the Orchard Road Estate, 11,000 sq ft of a 30,000 sq ft privately owned business unit is available. Under construction by Strabane Enterprise Agency at Orchard Road is approximately 20,000 sq ft of industrial space which will be released as 22 units.
	In the town centre, 4,200 sq ft of commercial floor space is available in Dock street from a private owner.

Midwife-led Maternity Units

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average number of nurses was in each calendar month in 2004 allocated to each shift in each midwife-led maternity unit; and how many (a) children were born in each midwife-led maternity unit and (b) mothers were turned away from each unit in each month.

Angela Smith: There was only one midwife-led maternity unit operational in Northern Ireland during 2004 located at Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust. The requested information, in relation to this unit, is provided in the following tables
	
		Average number of nurses allocated to each shift in each calendar month in 2004
		
			  Headcount WTE 
		
		
			 January to November 2004   
			 Midwife 3 3 
			 Nursing Auxiliary 1 1 
			
			 December 2004 (temporary arrangement) 
			 Midwife 2 2 
			 Nursing Auxiliary 1 1 
		
	
	Source:
	Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust
	
		(a) Births in each calendar month in 2004
		
			 Month Births(17) 
		
		
			 January 54 
			 February 47 
			 March 50 
			 April 56 
			 May 60 
			 June 60 
			 July 55 
			 August 60 
			 September 80 
			 October 61 
			 November 54 
			 December 53 
			 Total 690 
		
	
	(17) Figures will include any births where the mother was initially admitted to the midwife-led maternity unit but was later transferred to the main Delivery Suite to give birth before being re-admitted to the unit.
	Source:
	Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust
	(b) Number of mothers turned away from the midwife-led maternity unit in each calendar month in 2004. This information is not available from the Trust.

Paramilitary Prisoners

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners in Northern Ireland are being given separated status; and how many belong to each relevant paramilitary group.

Ian Pearson: Currently 64 prisoners have been given separated status. This is made up of 22 republican and 42 loyalist prisoners.
	It is not possible to provide figures for affiliations to each paramilitary group with absolute certainty.
	However, the perceived affiliations are as follows.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Republican 22 
			 Made up of:  
			 CIRA 4 
			 RIRA 14 
			 PIRA 3 
			 INLA 1 
			   
			 Loyalist 42 
			 Made up of:  
			 UVF 14 
			 UFF 5 
			 UDA 21 
			 Loyalist 1 
			 No traces 1

Paramilitary Prisoners

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners at HMP Maghaberry have (a) applied for and (b) been granted separated status since its introduction.

Ian Pearson: Since the introduction of separated status at Maghaberry prison there have been 161 applications of which 111 have been granted, 37 were withdrawn and 13 have been refused.

Pollution (Belfast)

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the number of deaths brought forward in 2003–04 (a) due to the overall pollution in Belfast and (b) as a direct result of pollution from Belfast City Airport, using the same methodology as the 1998 Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants report on The Quantification of the Effects of Air Pollution on Health in the United Kingdom.

Angela Smith: Calculations carried out by the Government consultants for 2003–04 have not yet been completed. Calculations are available for 2002.
	These calculations follow the methods recommended in 1998 by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) in their report on The Quantification of the Effects of Air Pollution on Health in the United Kingdom. Deaths brought forward due to PM10 were 166 in Northern Ireland as a whole with 34 in Belfast city district. The deaths brought forward from emissions from the airport are not quantifiable given the scale and the number of emission sources that contribute to local air quality in the vicinity of the airport.
	The pollutant PM10 has been chosen to calculate the number of deaths brought forward as it encompasses the majority of health effects related to ambient air pollution. In addition, the PM10 COMEAP coefficient is considered to be more robust.
	COMEAP plans to revisit the 1998 report on the Quantification of the Effects of Air Pollution on Health in the United Kingdom (commonly referred to as the QUARK report) next year. The QUARK 2 group will start work early in 2005 with a report expected by mid-2006.

Street Lighting

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recorded incidents, excluding those caused by weather, vandalism or damage caused by contractors, resulted in the interruption of electricity supplies to street lighting in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months; and what the average duration was of such faults to the electricity supply.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Roads Service has been asked to write to the hon. Member in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin to Lady Hermon, dated 19 January 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about the number of recorded incidents and average duration of interruption of electricity supplies to street lighting in the last 12 months (209121). I have been asked to reply as the issue of street lighting falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	I should explain that while Roads Service is responsible for the provision and maintenance of street lighting, responsibility for the continuity of electrical supply to the lights rests with Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE).
	Roads Service officials are presently liaising with NIE to obtain the details that you have requested, and I will forward the information to you in due course.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Titanic Quarter

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made to facilitate the creation of a museum dedicated to the Titanic story at Titanic Quarter; and what assessment has been made of the benefits of such a museum on the Northern Ireland economy and tourist sector.

Angela Smith: The provision of a museum in the Titanic Quarter is being dealt with as part of the development of a strategy of the Titanic area being taken forward by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and Belfast city council (BCC). NITB in their Strategic Framework for Action listed Titanic (Maritime) Belfast as one of their five signature projects for tourism development in Northern Ireland. BCC and NITB have established a Titanic Forum comprising all the main stakeholders, including the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland (MAGNI), and have commissioned consultants to prepare and agree a vision for the Titanic Project, prepare a business plan for the delivery and implementation and undertake an economic appraisal of the project which will include quantification of the social and economic impact. This is due to be completed in April 2005.

Water and Sewerage Charges

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is his policy to allocate additional resources to (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) Government departments in order to compensate them for the impact of the introduction of water and sewerage charges from April 2006.

Ian Pearson: Schools, hospitals and Government Departments in Northern Ireland already pay water charges. They will also become liable for sewerage charges once the new arrangements for financing the water service in Northern Ireland begin to be introduced. The phased approach to be used in introducing these new charges means that this was not an issue in the recent Priorities and Budget 2005–08 process. The allocation of resources beyond this period will be considered in future Budget processes.

Water and Sewerage Charges

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assumptions have been made in planning his budgets for the Northern Ireland departments over the three years from April 2006 about the amount of money in each year that will be released for other public expenditure in Northern Ireland as a result of the introduction of a self-financing regime for water and sewage services.

Ian Pearson: Allocations to NI departments for 2006–07, as set out in the recent Priorities and Budget 2005–08 publication, assume that one third of charging income will be paid in that year, and that £50–80 million of the current operating costs of the Water Service would be available for allocation to other public services.
	The position for 2007–08 and beyond will be an issue for future Budget processes.

TREASURY

AIDS Vaccine

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department's first tranche of funding for the advance purchase scheme for AIDS vaccine research will begin.

Paul Boateng: The Chancellor has announced that the UK will explore, with other G7 countries, how to construct "advance purchase contracts" for malaria and AIDS vaccines.
	Advance purchase contracts are structured so that payment by the commissioning party is made upon delivery of the good or service. In this example therefore, the UK government's first tranche of funding for the advance purchase scheme for AIDS will issue once an effective AIDS vaccine has been developed.

Central Government Grant

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much each (a) nation and (b) region of the United Kingdom received in central Government grant in the latest year for which figures are available, listed in descending order.

Paul Boateng: Data relating to total identifiable expenditure by central and local government can be found within chapter 8 of "Public Expenditure, Statistical Analyses 2004" (Cm6201), a copy of which can be found in the Library of the House. Table 8.1 details identifiable expenditure by nation and region of the United Kingdom for the years 1998–99 to 2002–03, the latest year for which data are available.

Local Government Finance

Peter Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which 50 local authorities in England have the highest percentage of properties in Council Tax Band A.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is contained in the table.
	
		
			 Name Percentage within Band A 
		
		
			 Easington 81 
			 Hull 71 
			 Derwentside 70 
			 Wansbeck 70 
			 Sedgefield 69 
			 South Tyneside 68 
			 Nottingham 67 
			 Manchester 66 
			 Sunderland 66 
			 Wear Valley 65 
			 Gateshead 65 
			 Bolsover 64 
			 Liverpool 64 
			 Pendle 63 
			 Barnsley 63 
			 Stoke on Trent 63 
			 Blyth Valley 62 
			 Burnley 62 
			 Leicester 61 
			 Lincoln 61 
			 Hartlepool 61 
			 Doncaster 61 
			 Sheffield 61 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 60 
			 Barrow in Furness 60 
			 Copeland 60 
			 Hyndbum 60 
			 Blackburn 60 
			 Corby 59 
			 Knowsley 59 
			 Rotherham 59 
			 Rochdale 58 
			 Mansfield 57 
			 Middlesbrough 57 
			 Ashfield 56 
			 Chesterfield 55 
			 Oldham 55 
			 Chester le Street 55 
			 Wakefield 54 
			 Tameside 54 
			 North Tyneside 54 
			 Derby 53 
			 Bassetlaw 53 
			 Bolton 53 
			 Rossendale 53 
			 North East Lincolnshire 53 
			 Wolverhampton 53 
			 Berwick upon Tweed 50 
			 North Lincolnshire 50 
			 Allerdale 49

Lorry Road User Charge (Northern Ireland)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the implications are of cross-border roads in Northern Ireland in relation to implementing the proposed lorry road-user charge.

John Healey: The Government are committed to introducing a distance-based lorry road-user charge, with offsetting tax cuts for those who buy their fuel in the UK. We have been developing proposals in consultation with the haulage industry and, as announced in the pre-Budget report (Cm 6408), we have today issued a discussion paper, which considers various details of how the charge might operate in practice. The discussion paper is available in the Library of the House.
	Land borders always provide challenges for distance-based road charging systems, both in determining UK distances travelled to which any charge should be applied, and in ensuring that vehicles crossing the boundary are complying with the charging requirements.
	The UK land boundary in Northern Ireland presents particular challenges, with over 300 open crossing points between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. A number of cross-border routes also include roads which pass into and out of the UK a number of times, in some cases without visibly identifiable crossing points.
	HM Customs and Excise, who are developing LRUC on behalf of the Government, are including these requirements in their specification for a modern, automated system for the UK.

National Debt

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the level of national debt in (a) 2009–10 and (b) what it was in 1997–98.

Paul Boateng: Outturn figures for public sector net debt are available on the Office for National Statistics website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/tsdtables1.asp?vlnk=fsf
	Table 1.1A: Public Sector Finances (series RUTO) shows figures for public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP.
	The latest available projections for public sector net debt for 2009–10 are published by HM Treasury in Table B9: Current and Capital Budgets on page 204 of the Pre-Budget Report 2004.

National Insurance Contributions

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deficiency notices he (a) has issued and (b) expects to issue in order to ensure that all individuals are notified of gaps in their national insurance contribution (NIC) record since 1997–98; what data he collects on the (i) age, (ii) marital status and (iii) gender of recipients; how many people have so far responded by making voluntary NIC payments to fill gaps in their record; how many notices have been issued to (A) women aged 63 years or above and (B) men aged 68 years or above; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 17 January 2005
	In September 2004, the Inland Revenue completed the exercise to issue Deficiency Notices to people of working age for the six-year period from 1996–97 to 2001–02. A total of 10.02 million notices were issued.
	The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency (NISSA) are writing to about 483,000 people who reached state pension age on or before 24 October 2004 and who have deficiencies on their national insurance account for 1996–97 to 2001–02. About 93,000 of these Deficiency Notices have been issued.
	For the Inland Revenue exercise, data on the number of recipients of Deficiency Notices by age and gender is as follows:
	
		Million
		
			 Age band/gender Number of recipients of Deficiency Notices 
		
		
			 Women under 40 3.19 
			 Women 40 to 49 1.62 
			 Women over 49 1.00 
			 Men under 40 2.32 
			 Men 40 to 49 0.94 
			 Men over 49 0.94 
		
	
	Data on age and gender of recipients for the DWP and NISSA exercises and on the marital status of recipients in all exercises is not available.
	To date, about 220,000 payments have been received. This will be greater than the number of individuals making payment since they can make more than one payment. An estimate of the number of individuals making payments is not available.
	We have now resumed annual exercises to write to people with deficiencies on their national insurance record; the issue of Deficiency Notices for the period 2002–03 has largely been completed.

Pre-Budget Report

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost to public funds will be for the increased spending announced in the pre-Budget report.

Stephen Timms: The costs of all measures announced in the 2004 pre-Budget report which involve an addition to total Government expenditure can be found in table 1.2 of the 2004 pre-Budget report, which is available in the Library of the House.

Prostate Cancer

Tom Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many men have died from prostate cancer in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 19 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many men have died from prostate cancer in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years. (209406)
	The most recently available information is for deaths in 2003. Figures for prostate cancer are shown in the table below for each year from 2001 to 2003.
	
		Number of deaths from prostate cancer(18), United Kingdom, 2001–2003(19)
		
			  No. of deaths 
		
		
			 2001 9,903 
			 2002 9,941 
			 2003 10,169 
		
	
	(18) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C61.
	(19) Data for England and Wales are for deaths occurring in the calendar year. Data for Scotland and Northern Ireland are for deaths registered in the calendar year.

Research and Development

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with representatives of small and medium sized businesses regarding tax credits for research and development.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers regularly receive representations from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and their representatives on a range of tax issues, including the Research and Development (R and D) tax credit for SMEs. Where possible, Ministers and officials meet with representative bodies to discuss these representations.
	Since the introduction of the R and D tax credit in 2000, the Government have continued to consult with small and medium sized enterprises and their representatives. Recent improvements to the credit have resulted from consultation with and suggestions from SMEs and their representative groups. The Government will continue to consult with SMEs on future improvements to the tax credit to ensure its effectiveness.

School-age Children (Drug Deaths)

John Mann: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer how many school-age children died from drug misuse in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Mann, dated 19 January 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many school-age children died from drug misuse in each of the last ten years. (209091)
	The latest available data are for 2002. The figures requested are given in the table below:
	
		Drug misuse-related(20) deaths, children aged 5 to 16,(21) England and Wales, 1993–2002(22)
		
			 Calendar year Number of deaths 
		
		
			 1993 10 
			 1994 12 
			 1995 16 
			 1996 13 
			 1997 11 
			 1998 14 
			 1999 10 
			 2000 10 
			 2001 11 
			 2002 6 
		
	
	(20) Defined as deaths where the underlying cause is poisoning, drug abuse or drug dependence and where any of the substances controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) are involved.
	(21) Compulsory school age.
	(22) Data are for occurrences of death per calendar year.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Specialist Acute Hospital Services

John Wilkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when he expects to complete consideration of the outline business case on modernising specialist acute hospital services in North West London; and if he will make the conclusions public;
	(2)  if he will invite the Comptroller and Auditor General to release personnel from the National Audit Office previously engaged in its consideration of the Paddington Basin Health Campus project last year to assist in his Department's evaluation of the outline business case on the modernising of specialist acute hospital services in West London.

Paul Boateng: No business case has yet been submitted to HM Treasury.

Tax Credits

Peter Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of people in the Burnley constituency who have benefitted from tax credits, broken down by (a) type of tax credit and (b) average amounts received in each category; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of in-work families receiving tax credits (broken down by families with and without children) in each constituency appear in "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses. December 2004." This can be found on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm. The estimates are based on a sample of cases, and are subject to sampling uncertainty.
	Information on the average value of tax credit awards is not currently available.

Tax Credits

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on Government efforts to reduce the backlog in dealing with working families tax credit appeals on overpayments;
	(2)  what is the current average waiting time for the completion of overpayment appeals relating to working families tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue aims to reply to 80 per cent. of correspondence within 15 working days, and 95 per cent. within 40 working days.
	Each case has to be reviewed on its own merits and the Department has recently increased the staff deployed on this work and streamlined its procedures.
	The information requested is not available.

Tax Credits

Anthony Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many demands have been issued by the Tax Credit Office regarding alleged overpayments in each of the last two financial years; what the average sum of overpayments was; how many overpayments have been waived by the Inland Revenue; how many staff are in the Overpayment Recovery team; and how many overpayment cases are currently under investigation.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 17 January 2005
	For the number of demands issued by the Inland Revenue regarding tax credit overpayments, the number of overpayments waived and how many overpayments cases are currently under investigation, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Miss Begg) on 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 129W.
	For the average value of overpayments in 2003–04 I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Members for Northavon (Mr. Webb) and Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 15 November 2004, Official Report, columns 946–48W.
	For overpayments in 2002–03, 1 refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 12 November 2003, Official Report, column 394W.
	At the end of December 2004 the Tax Credit Office had the equivalent of around 300 full-time staff on their team dealing with tax credit overpayments.

Tsunami Disaster Appeal

John Barrett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will add all income received from the taxation of charitable donations to the Disaster Emergency Committee to the Government's aid contribution to the tsunami disaster appeal in Asia;
	(2)  if he will estimate the amount raised by the Treasury through the taxation of donations made to the Disaster Emergency Committee as a result of the tsunami in Asia;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to encourage those who are donating to the Disaster Emergency Committee as a result of the tsunami in Asia to claim gift aid on their contributions.

John Healey: Donations to charity are not themselves taxed. The Gift Aid scheme allows individual donors to make a declaration allowing the charity to reclaim the basic rate tax they have paid on the money they donate, adding 28 pence to every £1 donated. In some cases tax will not have been paid on the money donated so there is nothing for the charity to claim back. It is important that charities claim tax only where they have a declaration from the donor allowing them to do so.
	The Disasters Emergency Committee has announced that, as of 6 January 2005, £100 million has been donated to the Tsunami appeal. This figure is increasing on a daily basis. It is estimated that Gift Aid tax repaid on donations will be over £15 million. The precise amount will depend upon the final total donations and the number of donors using Gift Aid. Gift Aid declarations may be made retrospectively, so donors who have made donations without making a declaration can go back to the charity and do so. The more donors use Gift Aid the more government will be able to add to their donations.
	The Inland Revenue website contains information for donors and charities and there is also a link from the Treasury website to this information. Inland Revenue is actively promoting tax effective methods of giving such as Gift Aid and Payroll Giving. In addition Inland Revenue is offering advice and guidance to charities and the organisers of fundraising events to help them in encouraging their donors to make use of Gift Aid and Payroll Giving.
	In addition the Treasury will make a special donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee to offset the VAT costs associated with the proposed charity concert, charity records and other events designed to raise money specifically for the tsunami appeal. The exact sum will be based on the VAT expected to be collected by Customs in relation to fund-raising sales of goods and services.

UK Economy (London's Contribution)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage contribution London has made to the UK economy in each of the last seven years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Andrew Rosindell, dated 19 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the percentage contribution London has made to the UK economy in each of the last seven years. (209494)
	In order to give a measure of the economy gross value added 1 (GVA) is used. The latest published information is for 2003.
	The estimates shown in the table below, are based on the regional gross value added 1 (GVA) estimates published in December 2004. These are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/RegionalGVA.pdf
	
		
			  London GVA at current basic prices (NUTS1 Area) Total UK GVA at current basic prices less Extra-Regio2 Percentage contribution of London to the UK economy 
		
		
			 1997 110,854 704,744 15.7 
			 1998 121,604 748,872 16.2 
			 1999 129,002 782,682 16.5 
			 2000 134,658 816,549 16.5 
			 2001 141,464 859,795 16.5 
			 2002 151,107 906,000 16.7 
			 2003 155,069 951,692 16.3 
		
	
	(23) Information represented here is gross value added (GVA) which is gross domestic product (GDP) less taxes (plus subsidies) on products.
	(24) Extra-Regio is that part of the UK's economic territory which cannot be allocated to any specific region.

Universities

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings he has had with university chancellors and vice-chancellors over the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers regularly meet representatives from the higher education sector and discuss a wide range of issues.

Vale of Clwyd Constituency

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, including statistical information relating as closely as possible to the constituency, the effect on Vale of Clwyd constituency of his Department's policies since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The Government have put in place a radical programme of both macro-economic and micro-economic reform since our election in 1997 to improve the economic performance of all parts of the UK. There is significant evidence that these policies have already yielded considerable benefits for the Vale of Clwyd constituency. For example, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 52 per cent., and both long-term unemployment and long-term youth unemployment have nearly been eliminated, with falls of 91 per cent. and 81 per cent. respectively.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk./.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Building Energy Standards

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the fuel cost data provided for the revision of building energy standards takes account of the leakage of natural gas during (a) processing, (b) transmission, (c) storage and (d) distribution; and whether his Department has studied records of leakage in the USA.

Phil Hope: The fuel cost data used in the review of the energy efficiency standards required by building regulations reflect typical UK market prices and include all costs associated with delivering fuel to the point of use. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not studied US leakage data but it is investigating how the global warming implications of gas leaks in the supply system can be taken into account.

Building Regulations

Mark Todd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received on the definition of a minor work as applied to the inspection of electrical work under Building Regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received representations on the definition of minor works from a majority of the 490 bodies and individuals who responded to the May 2002 consultation on bringing electrical work into the Building Regulations. The final list of minor works published on 22 July 2004 was drawn up by a Working Party of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, and was further amended in December 2004 to clarify notification requirements for intruder and fire alarm systems following representations from security industry bodies.

Building Regulations

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what regulatory impact assessment he has made of the cost of (a) employing and (b) training surveyors to issue annual certificates under the proposed new Building Regulations.

Phil Hope: There are no requirements for surveyors to issue annual certificates under the proposed new Building Regulations.

Civil Servants

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many of his Department's staff are based outside the London area.

Yvette Cooper: As of December 2004, 2,188 of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's staff (on a headcount basis) were based outside of the London area.

Civil Service

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average annual increase in gross salary for the year 2003–04 was for (a) staff below the Senior Civil Service and (b) the Senior Civil Service in his Office.

Yvette Cooper: The average annual increase in gross salary for the year 2003–04 in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for staff below the Senior Civil Service was 3.6 per cent.
	The average annual increase in gross salary for the year 2003–04 in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Senior Civil Service staff was 4.7 per cent.

Council Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set a new target to reduce the council house repairs backlog to 700,000 properties by April 2008.

Keith Hill: Repairs to council housing are now covered by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's target to ensure social sector homes reach the decent homes standard by 2010. By reducing the number of non-decent homes we are also reducing the repairs backlog.

Departmental Staff/Running Costs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff are employed by his Office; and what its annual running costs are.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the projected average number of staff employed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the 2004–05 financial year can be found in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Annual Report 2004 (pages 123–124) which is available in the Library of the House and electronically at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_about/documents/downloadable/odpm _about_028551.pdf
	The total running costs, including pay and non-pay costs are forecasted to be around £328 million for the 2004–05 financial year.

Fire and Rescue Control

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson) of 12 January 2005, Official Report, column 290, on Fire and Rescue Control, if he will place in the Library the evidence on which his statement on the difference in cost per incident reported between the Gloucestershire Fire Service Centre and the assumed regional control centre was based.

Nick Raynsford: The costs per incident of current control rooms are based on costs information provided to us by individual Fire and Rescue Authorities. The average cost per incident of the regional control centres (RCCs) has been calculated using expected costs pending completion of the procurement processes, for the control centre accommodation and infrastructure. Incident data are collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). A table, showing this information for Gloucestershire, has been made available in the Library of the House.

Graffiti

Liam Byrne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) obligations are incumbent on and (b) powers are at the disposal of local authorities to clean (i) publicly and (ii) privately owned properties of graffiti; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: In 2002, the cross-government review "Living Places: Powers, Rights and Responsibilities" consulted on obligation and powers for tackling environmental crimes, including graffiti. Since then we have strengthened and streamlined powers to tackle graffiti.
	The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 included powers to issue fixed penalty notices for graffiti on public property, enabling local authorities to issue such notices to people who commit "minor" acts of graffiti and to allow all local authorities to retain income from fixed penalty notices issued for graffiti for use in local environmental improvements.
	In the case of graffiti on private buildings owners are expected to remove it. However, Section 48–52 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act introduced new powers to enable local authorities to issue graffiti removal notices against the owners of property in or on the street where this is not done.
	The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill currently before Parliament proposes further clauses to vary the level of fixed penalty notices, require the name and address of those receiving fixed penalties and extend "authorised officers" able to issue notices. It also proposes a duty on local weights and measures authorities to undertake enforcement of their powers to tackle the sale of spray paints to children under 16 to try reduce the incidence of graffiti.

Home Information Packs

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether, in the course of preparing policy on home information packs, his officials have visited the USA to inquire into the practice of soil testing for oil pollution as part of real estate transactions; and whether they have corresponded on this subject with officials in the USA.

Keith Hill: No such visit or correspondence have taken place. Consideration is being given to appropriate means of including in home information packs information about contamination, including oil pollution. This would help ensure that home buyers and sellers are aware of any contamination problems affecting the property.

Home Ownership

Karen Buck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will break down the low cost home ownership units planned for Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea in the Housing Corporation's 2004–06 approved developed programme by (a) one-bed, (b) two-bed, (c) three-bed and (d) four-bed or more;
	(2)  if he will break down the low cost home ownership units planned for Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea in the Housing Corporation's 2004–06 Approved Developed Programme by (a) conventional shared ownership, (b) Do-It-Yourself shared ownership, (c) Homebuy and (d) other forms of low cost home ownership.

Keith Hill: pursuant to his reply, 7 December 2004, Official Report, c. 458–59W
	On low cost home ownership in Westminster, and Kensington and Chelsea, I stated that 155 ADP Homebuy Market Purchase dwellings were allocated to the Northern zone, which includes Westminster, Islington, Haringey, Enfield, Camden and Barnet. The current figure is 20 allocated to Westminster alone. The figure I gave of 296 Keyworker Homebuy allocations to the Northern zone should be 340.
	For Kensington and Chelsea I omitted to give the 16 Homebuy dwellings allocated to the borough itself; and the figure of 296 I gave for the Western zone of seven authorities (Kensington and Chelsea, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Harrow, Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Brent) should have been 334.
	A copy of the amended table for all London boroughs has been placed in the Library of the House.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many permanent dwellings were constructed in the United Kingdom in each year since 1979 by (a) registered social landlords, (b) local authorities and (c) private enterprise; and how many were in England in each case.

Keith Hill: Annual house building information for the United Kingdom and England from 1979 onwards is published in "Housing Statistics 2004" (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) in Tables 2.5a and 2.5c. The tables are also on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_control/documents/contentservertemplate/odpm_index.hcst?n=l566&1=3
	[Housing—Housing Statistics—Live Tables—Housebuilding—Table 241 (UK) or 244 (England)]

Housing

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the availability of an environmental health officer to identify an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO) with three or more storeys and five or more occupants as compared to identifying an unlicensed HMO with three or more storeys.

Keith Hill: The identifying of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) requiring licensing is a matter for individual local authorities. There are a number of sources available to them, including council tax and housing benefit data. Local housing authorities will also have powers to require owners, managers and occupiers of HMOs to provide information for the purpose of determining the number of occupants. Failure to provide such information without reasonable excuse will be a criminal offence.

Housing

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which organisations support establishing the threshold for the mandatory house in multiple occupation licensing scheme of three or more storeys and five or more occupants.

Keith Hill: In response to the consultation on the draft Housing Bill the following organisations supported the establishment of the threshold for mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation at three or more storeys with five or more occupants (comprised in two or more households):
	St. David's Community Group
	Centrepoint
	Unipol
	Lincoln City Council.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will have a clearer idea of the range of views on the proposed threshold following responses to the consultation paper "Licensing in the Private Rented Sector—Consultation on the Implementation of HMO Licensing".
	The closing date for responses is 9 February.

Housing

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what threshold for the mandatory house in multiple occupation licensing scheme was proposed by (a) the Local Government Association and (b) the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

Keith Hill: In response to the consultation on the draft Housing Bill, the Local Government Association proposed that mandatory licensing should apply to houses in Multiple Occupation of two or more storeys and occupied by four or more persons. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health suggested that guidance should be issued on the scope of licensing, but proposed no specific threshold for mandatory licensing.

Housing

Peter Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions his Department has had with the housing renewal pathfinder projects regarding (a) progress to date and (b) future funding levels; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: Officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister hold regular meetings with all the pathfinders to discuss progress to date and funding. This spring pathfinders will be invited to submit scheme updates to inform allocation of resources in the SR04 spending period (from April 2006 to March 2008).

IT Projects

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list his Department's IT projects in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) amount spent, (b) purpose, (c) cost of over-run and (d) time of over-run.

Yvette Cooper: The following IT projects have been completed since the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created in May 2002:
	
		
			 Project Amount spent (£) Purpose Cost over budget (£) Over-runs 
		
		
			 2002 
			 Planning Portal 3,107,000 To provide a one-stop-shop for the planning system in England and Wales with the aim of improving the planning system and adding value to the related services 77,000 Three months 
			 Renewal Net 2,500,000 To deliver a website that presents high quality evidence-based information about what works and what doesn't in meeting floor targets so that more practitioners will take an evidence-based approach None None 
			 Local e-Government Programme Website 142,000 A website to promote the Local e-Government National Strategy and assist local authorities to e-enable 100 per cent. of priority services by December 2005 None None 
			 Total £5.7m
			  
			 2003 
			 Buy-Net (e-Ordering) 2,500,000 To implement an e-ordering solution for ODPM using technology available from the Department's SAP accounting system None Three months, but project remained within budget 
			 Corporate Information Infrastructure 1,076,000 The project followed a review that found that significant improvements could be made, and important benefits secured, by creating a new directory to allow staff information to be shared from one virtual pool across all the IT systems that need it 420,000 11 months 
			 GOSAP 837,000 To extend ODPM's central SAP accounting system to the Government Office network 50,000 None 
			 ASSAP 386,000 To separate the DTLR accounting system for ODPM and DfT following the creation of the separate Departments None None 
			 Social Exclusion Unit website 69,000 To replace an existing website with one that was functionally richer and more accessible, and allows the Social Exclusion Unit to communicate more effectively with its audiences None None 
			 Total £4.9 million  £0.5 million  
			  
			 2004 
			 Housing Grants (LogasNet) 3,308,000 To provide a web-based system to assist with the processing of claims for, and the calculation of, housing subsidies and grants for local authorities in England totalling some £4.3 billion a year as a replacement for an earlier out of date system None None 
			 Floor Targets Interactive 170,000 To establish a public access website, which provides information to Neighbourhood Renewal practitioners and other wider audiences on the achievement of floor targets None None 
			 New Deal for Communities Performance Managements 130,000 To provide an online centralised reporting mechanism whereby performance information on the New Deal for Communities programme can be collected None None 
			 Local Government Intervention Division Database 50,000 The database maintains a central record of the history and nature of Government intervention in local authorities, in order to facilitate inter-departmental cooperation in managing local authority performance None None 
			 Total £3.7 million

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which billing authorities had the (a) highest and (b) lowest Band D council tax in England in 2004–05.

Nick Raynsford: Assuming all precepts are included, the billing authorities with the highest and lowest Band D council tax in England in 2004–05 were Sedgefield (£1,376) and Wandsworth (£601) respectively. Wandsworth (£553) also had the lowest average council tax, with Richmond-upon-Thames (£1,489) having the highest average.

Local Government Finance

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he will provide additional grant to local authorities to refund lost grant arising from amendments to their 2003–04 grant consequent upon errors in population estimates for 2001; and whether he is setting aside amounts to refund authorities for retrospective reductions in their 2004–05 grant arising from errors in population estimates for 2002 by the Department.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has always been clear that we would issue an amending report for the 2003–04 settlement to incorporate the revised 2001 population estimates. It is only fair that authorities should receive the correct amount of grant relative to the updated population estimates. Indeed, we consulted on options for the 2003–04 and 2004–05 amending reports last summer.
	However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister appreciates that it is not possible for authorities that receive less grant under the amending report than they did under the original local government finance report to reopen their budgets for 2003–04. For this reason we will pay, or recover, any changes in 2003–04 grant amounts during 2005–06; and we have proposed amending the floor damping scheme for 2005–06 to ensure that all authorities should receive at least the floor increase in their formula grant after paying back any money owed under the 2003–04 amending report.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister proposes that similar arrangements be put in place for the 2004–05 amending report.

Local Government Finance

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons Hampshire is combined with the Isle of Wight for the purpose of area cost adjustment calculations; and what assessment he has made of the impact that this has on Hampshire's grant allocations.

Nick Raynsford: In calculating the area cost adjustment (ACA), authorities are grouped together to make sure that there is enough wage data in each area to produce ACA factors which are robust and stable from year to year. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are grouped together and so receive the same area cost adjustment. On balance, the new earnings survey sample size for the Isle of Wight is such that their labour costs cannot be estimated with the same degree of precision as other, more populous, areas. The Isle of Wight sample size is no larger than other unitary, metropolitan or London boroughs that we have combined together in order to avoid small samples. This grouping for the ACA treats all authorities more consistently.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not normally exemplify the effect of options that were not adopted in the formula review for subsequent years.

Local Government Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact of the local government finance settlement 2005–06 on the level of council tax.

Nick Raynsford: The provisional local government finance settlement for 2005–06 provides an increase in formula grant of 5.6 per cent. and we have been able to guarantee that, for the third successive year, all authorities receive a grant increase which is at least above the rate of inflation. Overall grant increases by £3.5 billion or 6.2 per cent., which means that since we took office we have increased Government grant to local government by 33 per cent. in real terms.
	Given this substantial investment in local government and scope for efficiency gains, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects to see significantly lower council tax increases next year. We expect all authorities to budget prudently and minimise demands on council taxpayers. Average council tax increase in England in 2005–06 should be less than 5 per cent. We are prepared to take even tougher capping action than we did in 2004–05. This applies to all authorities, including police and fire authorities.

Local Government Finance

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost to local authorities was of collecting and enforcing the council tax in England for 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The cost to local authorities of collecting and enforcing the council tax in England in 2002–03 was £311.1 million.
	The data are as reported by local authorities and are taken from outturn figures for 2002–03. Outturn data are not yet available for 2003–04.

Planning Appeals (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning appeals there have been in Coventry in the last three years.

Keith Hill: The information requested is contained in the following table:
	
		Planning appeals in Coventry
		
			 Dates Planning appeals received by the Planning Inspectorate Planning appeals determined by the Planning Inspectorate 
		
		
			 Between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2002 31 22 
			 Between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2003 49 38 
			 Between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2004 59 37 
		
	
	The difference between the appeals received and the appeals determined columns is accounted for by appeals being received in one period but not being determined until the next. In addition, some appeals are withdrawn and are not determined.

Residential Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average local authority residential rates bill was for a typical household in England in each year from 1975 to its abolition.

Nick Raynsford: Figures for the average domestic rates bill in England for each financial year from 1974–75 to 1989–90 are tabled as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Average domestic rates bill (£) 
		
		
			 1974–75 76 
			 1975–76 94 
			 1976–77 103 
			 1977–78 119 
			 1978–79 131 
			 1979–80 156 
			 1980–81 199 
			 1981–82 244 
			 1982–83 282 
			 1983–84 303 
			 1984–85 323 
			 1985–86 351 
			 1986–87 400 
			 1987–88 419 
			 1988–89 468 
			 1989–90 514

Social Housing (Right to Buy)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the eligibility of housing association tenants for the right to buy;
	(2)  how many housing association tenants are eligible for the right to buy.

Keith Hill: Around 870,000 housing association tenants have the right to buy or the preserved right to buy their rented homes.
	The right to buy is available to approximately 65,000 pre-1988 secure tenants of non-charitable housing associations. Housing association properties were generally let on secure tenancies until 1988 but all new lettings since then have been on assured tenancies which do not include the right to buy.
	In addition, some 805,000 former local authority tenants of housing stock which have been transferred to housing associations retain a preserved right to buy.

Supporting People Grants

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department plans to use a revised formula for the supporting people grant allocations for 2005–06; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The supporting people grant allocations for 2005–06, announced on 2 December 2004, were partly informed by a new needs based distribution formula. The overall size of the supporting people budget has reduced in 2005–06 by 5 per cent. The Government made a commitment to limit any decrease in grant to individual authorities to no more than 7.5 per cent. The majority of authorities received the average reduction of 5 per cent. The formula, which is intended to help allocate funds to areas of greatest relative need, was only used to inform grant levels to those authorities likely to receive longer term increases or decreases in funding.
	The Government will shortly launch a formal consultation on the supporting people distribution formula to be used for allocations beyond 2005–06.

Telecommunication Masts

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will revise existing planning procedures to enable local authorities to ban the siting of mobile phone masts near (a) schools, (b) nurseries and (c) hospitals.

Yvette Cooper: The precautionary approach recommended by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones' report in 2000 has provided the basis for Government policy. The Group's report did not recommend a ban on the construction of mobile phone masts near schools or any other site. What the report did do was make some specific recommendations for precautionary action for the use of mobile technology. The Government accepted the precautionary approach advised by the Group and have adopted a range of specific actions.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

A3 Hindhead

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the South East England Development Agency was first informed of the Department of Transport's intention to downgrade the A3 Hindhead tunnel scheme.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	The proposed Hindhead improvement scheme has not been downgraded, it has been classified as a scheme of regional importance. This was announced in the Highways Agency's Press Release of 1 December 2004. The South East England Development Agency was not separately notified of this decision.

Avient

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evidence the National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines drew upon in reaching the conclusion that the UN had supplied neither further details nor evidence of specific actions undertaken by Avient crews when preparing its statement on Avient; and what assessment was made in drawing up the statement of allegations by the UN Panel of Experts of (a) bombing raids and (b) dealings with Mr. Leonid Minim by Avient.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 29 November 2004
	The statement made by the National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines on Avient drew, in part, on documentation provided by the UN. The UN has required the Government to maintain the confidentiality of that documentation. In making a statement, the NCP reflected the allegations made by the UN panel and the response of the company.

Avient

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make an assessment of the extent to which the statement on Avient by the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines accords with Government policy on mercenary operations in Africa.

Douglas Alexander: The statement made by the National Contact Point for OECD guidelines is consistent with the policy of HMG towards Private Military and Security Companies.
	Following the growth in the size and importance of the UK private security industry operating overseas my right hon. friend the Foreign Secretary has recently instituted a further detailed review of options for regulation of Private Military and Security Companies. The Government will keep Parliament fully informed of its thinking in this area.

Avient

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what interpretation she places on the reference in the statement on Avient by the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines that Avient's M124 attack helicopter crew was involved in the relief of isolated places.

Douglas Alexander: Avient have admitted they supplied, but did not task, a helicopter crew for the recognised government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to support military operations. Avient were informed later that the crew were used in the relief of Kigali from rebel forces.
	In its Statement the NCP recommended that in their future activities, Avient
	"Respect the human rights of those affected by their activities consistent with the host government's international obligations and commitments."

CAB Funding

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will ensure that funding for Citizens Advice bureaux is ring-fenced.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Each Citizens Advice Bureau is an independent charity and organises its own funding. The largest contribution frequently comes from local authorities, but most bureaux also gain funding from a number of other sources.
	My Department does not fund any individual bureau directly, nor do I have any say in how local authorities control their budget allocation. That would be a matter for my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister.

CAB Funding

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on the existence of a national network of Citizens Advice Bureaux; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department funds Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice for Scotland. These are the organisations that support the national network of bureaux by providing training, setting standards for membership, conducting social policy research and producing the database of advice that is used by the network.

Criminal Offences

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by her Department in the (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 session, broken down by Act.

Patricia Hewitt: The information requested is as follows:
	
		2002–03 Session
		
			 Act Section Offence 
		
		
			 Communications Act 2003(except Parts 3 and 4, which were sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport) 43 Providing an electronic communications network or electronic communications service, or making available any associated facility while the entitlement to do so is suspended by a direction under section 42 or is in contravention of a restriction contained in such a direction 
			
			  103 (1) Providing an electronic communications network or electronic communications service, or making available any associated facility while the entitlement to do so is suspended by a direction under section 98(4) or 100; or is in contravention of a restriction contained in such a direction 
			
			  103 (2) Supplying electronic communications apparatus while prohibited from doing so by a direction under section 101; or in contravention of a restriction contained in such a direction 
			
			  125 Dishonestly obtaining an electronic communications service which is done so with intent to avoid payment of a charge applicable to the provision of that service 
			
			  126 Having possession of or under their control anything that may be used for obtaining an electronic communications service; or in connection with obtaining such a service 
			
			  127 Sending by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; or causes any such message or matter to be so sent 
			
			  133 Providing an electronic communications network or electronic communications service, or making available any associated facility while the entitlement to do so is suspended by a direction under section 132; or in contravention of a restriction contained in such a direction 
			
			  143 (1) Providing an electronic communications network or electronic communications service, or making available any associated facility while the entitlement to do so is suspended by a direction under section 140; or in contravention of a restriction contained in such a direction 
			
			  143 (2) Supplying electronic communications apparatus while prohibited from doing so by a direction under section 141; or in contravention of a restriction contained in such a direction 
			
			  144 (1) Failing to provide information in accordance with a requirement of Ofcom under section 135 or 136 
			
			  144 (3) Providing any information (required under section 135 or 136) that is false in any material particular; and at the time it is provided, the person either knows it to be false or is reckless as to whether or not it is false 
			
			  171 Failure to provide information in accordance with a requirement of Ofcom under this section 
			
			  171 Providing information that is false and at the time it is provided it is known to be false or is reckless as to whether or not it is false 
			
			  393 Disclosure of information in contravention of section 393 
		
	
	
		2003–04 Session
		
			 Act Section Offence 
		
		
			 Civil Partnership Act 2004 32 (l)(a) Giving information by way of evidence in response to a requirement under section22(1), knowing that the information is false 
			
			  32 (l)(b) Giving a certificate as provided for by section 22(3), knowing that the certificate is false 
			
			  32 (2) A person in his actual or purported capacity as a civil partnership registrar officiates at the signing of a Registrar General's licence by proposed civil partners knowing that he does so:- (a) at a place other than the place specified in the licence, (b) in the absence of a civil partnership registrar, (c) after the end of 1 month from the day on which the notice of proposed civil partnership was given, or (d) even though the civil partnership is void under section 49(b) or (c) 
			
			  33 (1) Refusal or failure of civil partnership registrar to comply with the provisions of Chapter 1 or of any regulations made under section 36 
			
			  33 (3) Refusal or without reasonable cause omits to record information required to be recorded under section 2(4) 
			
			  33 (5) Recording in the register information relating to the formation of a civil partnership by the signing of a civil partnership schedule, knowing that the civil partnership is void under section 49(b) or (c) 
			
			  33 (7) Recording in the register information relating to the formation of a civil partnership by the signing of a Registrar General's licence, knowing that the civil partnership is void under section 49(b) or (c) 
			
			  80 Making or signing a false statement to procure the formation of a civil partnership 
			
			  100 (1) Registering in Scotland as the civil partner of another person knowing that either or both are already married or are in a civil partnership. 
			
			  100 (2)(a) Knowingly falsifying or forging any civil partnership document 
			
			  100 (2)(b) Using, giving or sending to any person as genuine, any false or forged civil partnership document 
			
			  100 (2)(c) A person being an authorised registrar, purports to register two people as civil partners of each other before any civil partnership schedule available to him at the time of registration has been duly completed 
			
			  100 (2)(d) A person not being an authorised registrar, conducts himself in such a way as to lead intended civil partners to believe that he is authorised to register them as civil partners of each other 
			  100 (2)(e) A person being an authorised registrar, purports to register two people as civil partners of each other without both of them being present 
			
			  100 (2)(f) A person being an authorised registrar, purports to register two people as civil partners of each other in a place other than a registration office or a place agreed under section 93 
			
			  158 Any registrar who signs a civil partnership schedule in the absence of the civil partners 
			
			  204 Making or signing a false statement to procure the formation of a civil partnership (Northern Ireland) 
			
			  Schedule 16 paragraph 26(4) Failure, without reasonable excuse, to give notice as required by sub-paragraph (3) 
			
			  Schedule 16 paragraph 27(9) Failure, without reasonable excuse, to give notice as required by sub-paragraph (8) 
			
			 Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise Act 2004 8 Knowingly or recklessly making to an auditor of a company a statement (oral or written) that conveys or purports to convey any information or explanations which the auditor requires, or is entitled to require, under section 389A(l)(b), which is misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular 
			
			  8 Failure to comply with a requirement under section 389A(l)(b) without delay 
			
			  8 Failure of a company to comply with section 3 89A(5) 
			
			  9 (3) Making a misleading statement or knowing such a statement was misleading, and failing to prevent such a statement from being made 
			
			  11 Contravention of Section 245E (1) or (2) 
			
			  11 Contravention of 253E (1) or (2) 
			
			  11 Disclosure of information in contravention of section 245G 
			
			  23 Intentional obstruction of a person lawfully acting under Section 453 A (2) or (4) 
			
			  45 Failure of a company to comply with Section 45 (10) 
			
			  48 Contravention of an order under Section 48 (2) or (3) 
			
			  59 Disclosure of information in contravention of a restriction imposed under 59 (8) 
			
			  Schedule 6, paragraph 6 Improper use of "community interest company" and "community interest public limited company" or its Welsh equivalent ("cwmni buddiant cymunedol cyhoeddus cyfyngedig") 
			
			  Schedule 7, paragraph 5 (2) Knowingly or recklessly providing information which is false in a material particular 
			
			 Energy Act 2004 97 (1) Entry of a vessel in a safety zone in contravention of section 96(1) 
			
			  97 (3) A person who carries on an activity wholly or partly in a safety zone in contravention of section 96(2) 
			
			  97 (4) Contravention of a condition granted for the purposes of section 96 
			
			  98 Commission of an offence under Section97 by persons other than by owner or master of vessel 
			  107 Failure without reasonable excuse to comply with a notice under section107(5) 
			
			  109 Taking any measures for decommissioning not in accordance with the programme or with the agreement of the Secretary of State 
			
			  110 Failure to comply with a notice under section 110 
			
			  Schedule 22 Wilful alteration, suppression or destruction of a document required to be produced under paragraph 8

Debt Recovery

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many recovery actions have been completed by the Export Credits Guarantee Department in each year since 1997; how much has been recovered; and how much is unrecoverable.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 17 January 2005
	The following table shows the amount that ECGD has recovered in each financial year since 1997. The nature of ECGD's business means that recovery of individual claims paid is invariably spread over very many years. The information regarding completed action is not therefore available in the form requested.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 510.9 
			 1998–99 429.3 
			 1999–2000 362.0 
			 2000–01 441.3 
			 2001–02 503.5 
			 2002–03 490.0 
			 2003–04 564.1 
			 As at 31 December 2004 437.8 
		
	
	As at the end of the 2003–04 financial year, ECGD had an outstanding Gross Claims Balance of £5.8 billion, excluding interest in respect of outstanding Paris Club debts. Against this a sum of £3.1 billion was set as an accounting provision, representing a prudent estimate of that proportion of outstanding claims that may later prove not to be recoverable.

Departmental Staff

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of her Department's staff is based in London.

Patricia Hewitt: The Lyons Independent Review of Public Sector Relocation, published in July 2004, stated that 32 per cent. of staff in the DTI Group were based in London and the South East.

EU Constitution

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will define (a) free and (b) undistorted competition as required by article 1–3(3) of the proposed EU Constitution.

Douglas Alexander: The references to "free" and "undistorted" competition in Article 1–3(3) of the new Constitutional Treaty are both widely used and widely understood in outlining the aims of competition policy. They are terms used in Articles 3(l) (g) and 4 of the current treaty. EU competition policy aims to create and maintain a system which promotes undistorted competition within an economic area free from anti-competitive practices and, through its monitoring and investigative powers, bans cartels, prohibits the abuse of dominant positions on the functioning of markets, exercises merger controls, controls on State subsidies and has responsibility for liberalising markets".

Gas Supplies (Business Risk)

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what action she is taking to assist industry and businesses with high gas use to manage their business risk; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will take action to introduce an efficient and competitive forward wholesale gas market;
	(3)  what discussions she has had with UK Offshore Operations Association to develop a UK forward gas market; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  if she will take action to help large industrial users to compete in the forward wholesale gas market.

Mike O'Brien: Great Britain has the most highly developed forward gas market in the European Union.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met representatives of energy intensive users before Christmas and agreed that officials work with industry to develop ideas for improving the operation of the forward gas market and to report back. This will include discussions with some large gas producers about their views on the forward gas market. The strategy that businesses adopt to manage their risk is a commercial matter for the companies themselves.

Heating Oil Tanks

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information she has collected on the number of tanks to contain heating oil sold on the domestic market in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: DTI does not collect this information.

Parking Spaces

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many car parking spaces are provided for those (a) working in and (b) visiting her Department.

Patricia Hewitt: There are 118 car parking spaces in total on the DTI London estate.
	Of these, 53 spaces are allocated on a renewable basis to staff and contractors for reasons of official business, disability or welfare. This is a substantial reduction from the 103 allocated places in November 2002 The remainder are available on a daily basis for visitors and staff with an occasional business need.

Secondment

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the people working within her Department on secondment from the private sector, broken down by (a) the organisation or industry they came from and (b) the policy responsibilities they have been given.

Patricia Hewitt: The table shows all the people currently working in the Department of Trade and Industry on secondment from the private sector. The table indicates the organisation they came from and the name of the DTI directorate to which the secondee is attached.
	
		
			 Name Organisation name DTI directorate 
		
		
			 Professor Christine Adams SIRA Ltd. Technology Innovation and Sustainable Development 
			 Mr. Martyn Allen BAE Systems UK Trade and Investment 
			 Ms Rita Barallon LGC Ltd. Technology Innovation and Sustainable Development 
			 Mr. Mike Barradell KPMG Business Relations 1 
			 Mr. Frederick Bassnett Raylian London Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Ms Fahima Begum BT plc Business Relations 2 
			 Mr. Norman Bolton TUV NEL Ltd. Technology Innovation and Sustainable Development 
			 Ms Debbie Boswell British Jewellery and Giftware Federation UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Edwin Bowles Exploration Consultants Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Ms Sara Brazendale Reuters Ltd. Business Relations 2 
			 Mr. David Brooks BP plc Business Support 
			 Ms Jennifer Churchward Ernst and Young UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Peter Concannon, FaberMaunsell Business Relations 2 
			 Mr. Graham Cook PKF Regions 
			 Mr. Brian Nicholas Cook UK PIA Energy Markets Unit 
			 Mr. David Crookes RWE npower plc Energy Innovation and Business Unit 
			 Mr. Adam Dawson Shell Information Technologies International Business Support 
			 Mr. Mark Donougher Pricewaterhouse Coopers UK Trade and Investment 
			 Dr. lan Downey Science Systems (Space) Ltd. British National Space Centre 
			 Ms Melanie Evans BAE Systems Plc Business Relations 1 
			 Mr. Paul Fawcett HSBC Bank plc UK Trade and Investment 
			 Dr. Andy Feest AEA Technology plc Business Relations 1 
			 Dr. Hilary Hartigan NPL Management Ltd. Technology Innovation and Sustainable Development 
			 Mr. Nick Heyes Marine Electronic Services Ltd. Business Relations 1 
			 Mr. Christopher Hill Shell UK Exploration and Production Energy Innovation and Business Unit 
			 Ms Judith Hopson Marine Electronic Services Ltd. Business Relations 1 
			 Mr. Thomas Huang British Nuclear Fuel plc UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Robert Hudson Hyder Consulting Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Marcus Jackson Ernst and Young Regions 
			 Ms Rosie Janes BDO Stoy Hayward LLP Corporate Law and Governance 
			 Dr. James Johnstone NPL Management Ltd. Technology Innovation and Sustainable Development 
			 Miss Alexia Jones Deluca UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Errol Levy Astrium UK Ltd. British National Space Centre 
			 Mr. Jonathan Lonsdale Ecotec Research and Consulting Ltd. Business Relations 1 
			 Ms Carolyn Luke BAE Systems plc Business Relations 1 
			 Dr. Christopher Mansfield Shell UK Exploration and Production Energy Markets Unit 
			 Mr. Richard Mrowicki British Nuclear Fuel plc Energy Industries Technologies Unit 
			 Mr. Noah Myers URS Corporation Ltd. Business Relations 1 
			 Mr. Allan Ockenden Mott MacDonald Group Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Ray Parkinson British Nuclear Fuel plc Energy Industries Technologies Unit 
			 Mr. Phillip Patterson Association of Independent Music Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Dr. Robert Quarshie Corus Group plc Business Relations 1 
			 Ms Magdalena Roel BP plc Europe and World Trade 
			 Mr. Mark Russell KPMG Regions 
			 Ms Man] it Sahota BAE Systems plc Business Relations 1 
			 Mr. Robin Sellers British Nuclear Fuel plc Energy Industries Technologies Unit 
			 Mr. Michael Shanks RWE Innogy plc Business Relations 1 
			 Mr. Garth Shephard Envisage Ltd. Office of Science and Technology / Transdepartmental Science and Technology 
			 Ms Elaine Simpson British Nuclear Fuel plc Energy Industries Technologies Unit 
			 Mr. Martyn Skinner Tate and Lyle plc UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Robin Sloan Ove Arup and Partners UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. James Stephens BAE Systems plc Business Relations 1 
			 Mr. Gordon Stevenson Lee and Alien Consulting Ltd. Corporate Law and Governance 
			 Mr. Risto Talas Maritime and Underwater Consultants Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Peter Tandy British Nuclear Fuel plc Energy Industries Technologies Unit 
			 Mr. Gary Taylor British Nuclear Fuel plc Energy Industries Technologies Unit 
			 Mr. John Vernon Drinks Marketing Consortium Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. John Vimpany Exhibition Consultants Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. John von Speyr DSL Consultants Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. David Warner British Nuclear Fuel plc Energy Industries Technologies Unit 
			 Mr. Frank Watson IBM (UK) Office of Science and Technology / Transdepartmental Science and Technology 
			 Mr. Jeremy Webb Pricewaterhouse Coopers Shareholder Executive 
			 Mr. David Williams Gilbert Gilkes and Gordon Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Ms Barbara Wilson Corgi Hosiery Ltd. UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. Gordon Wright BAE Systems plc UK Trade and Investment 
			 Mr. John Wright Kellogg Brown and Root Ltd. UK Trade and Investment

Sickness Absence

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many days sick leave were taken by civil servants in the Department in each year since 1997; and what the sickness absence rate was in each year.

Patricia Hewitt: The following table sets out the number of days sick absence and average absence rates in DT HQ and the Small Business Service between years ending 31 March 2000 and 31 March 2004. Earlier information is not readily available and would incur disproportionate cost to obtain.
	
		Population: DTI HQ including SBS
		
			   Headcount Full-time equivalent 
			 Year ending 31 March Days sick absence Staff-in-post Average sick absence Staff-in-post Average sick absence 
		
		
			 2004 43,229 5,395 8.0 5,240.5 8.2 
			 2003 37,948 5,406 7.0 5,247.4 7.2 
			 2002 36,576 5,255 7.0 5,115.0 7.2 
			 2001 33,635 4,986 6.7 4,855.0 6.9 
			 2000 32,708 4,932 6.6 4,818.6 6.8

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support requests by representatives of ethnic national groups in Burma, including the Shan, Karen and Karenni, to address the United Nations General Assembly and other UN forums.

Douglas Alexander: We fully support the representatives of Burmese ethnic groups addressing UN bodies which are mandated to accept their evidence. In general, only UN member states and observer states are able to address the UN General Assembly. However evidence provided to other UN Committees and Working Groups, and at UN General Assembly side-events, can help raise the awareness of UN members to the human rights abuses that are taking place in Burma. The UK also played a key role in drafting last year's UN General Assembly Human Rights Resolution on Burma. The Resolution, adopted by the UN in December, condemned the many human rights abuses in the country, including against ethnic groups.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has made to the Association of South East Asian Nations to urge the Government of Burma to allow unrestricted access to independent human rights monitors and humanitarian aid organisations to all parts of Burma;
	(2)  he will urge the Government of Burma to allow unrestricted access for independent human rights monitors and humanitarian aid organisations to all parts of Burma.

Douglas Alexander: Securing increased access to all areas of the country for independent human rights monitors and humanitarian aid organisations is an important objective. We are working with international organisations such as the UN and the Association of South East Asian Nations to encourage the Burmese authorities to allow this.
	We welcome the decision by the regime to allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees access to eastern parts of Burma.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has made to the Government of Burma about the imprisonment of (a) Huiun May Aung and (b) Dr. Zaw Myint Maung;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the Government of Burma about the imprisonment of Aye Myint Than.

Douglas Alexander: I met the Burmese Ambassador on 29 November and called for the release of all political prisoners in Burma. My statement on 30 November also called for the release of all political prisoners. A copy of the statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: www.fco.gov.uk/policy/news/press-releases.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many political prisoners are on death row in Tharawaddy prison in Burma.

Douglas Alexander: We understand from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners that there are six such prisoners, but we do not have independent corroboration of this.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make representations to the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's well-being through regular visits;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the National League for Democracy in Burma about the medical condition of Aung San Suu Kyi;
	(3)  what representations he has made to the Government of Burma about (a) the reduction and (b) the withdrawal of Aung San Suu Kyi's security detail;
	(4)  if he will make representations to the State Peace and Develoment Council in Burma (a) to allow Daw Aung San Suu Kyi free access to her personal physician, (b) to end the intimidation and harassment of that physician and (c) to permit the National League for Democracy Youths to remain in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's compound to take care of her;
	(5)  if he will issue a public statement expressing concern about the safety and health of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and emphasising that the Burmese military is responsible for her safety and health.

Douglas Alexander: I am deeply concerned that the Burmese military government has formally extended Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest for another year. As I made clear on 30 November 2004, her continued detention is completely unjustified and unacceptable. A copy of my statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: www.fco.gov.uk/policy/news/press-releases. We have repeatedly called for her immediate release, most recently when I met the Burmese Ambassador on 29 November 2004, and we will continue to raise the issue with the Burmese authorities. We and our EU and international partners as well as the UN and other international agencies and the Association of South East Asian Nations have all called for the restrictions on her to be lifted.
	In the meantime our Embassy in Rangoon monitors the situation closely and maintains contact with the National League for Democracy, including in regard to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's state of health. Her doctor is able to visit her occasionally and I agree with the hon. Member that the State Peace and Development Council is responsible for her safety and health, as it is for the safety and health of all political prisoners in Burma.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek to put the conduct of the Government of Burma on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council as a regional and international concern on the grounds of (a) crimes against humanity, (b) the refugee situation in neighbouring countries and (c) involvement in the narcotics trade.

Douglas Alexander: We have raised our concerns on the situation in Burma with our Security Council Partners. However, there is no consensus at present to bring Burma before the Security Council.

China

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what stance the Government took on the decision of the EU to lift the arms embargo on China.

Bill Rammell: The Government supported the decision of the European Council in December 2003 to review the EU Arms Embargo on China. This review is ongoing.
	The European Council in December 2004 discussed the embargo. The UK and partners invited the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU to take forward work on the review. The Government could envisage embargo lift subject to satisfaction on the issues laid out in the Conclusions of that Council.
	Until the review process is complete, the Government continues to implement the Arms Embargo as set out by the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the late Derek Fatchett, in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) on 3 June 1998, Official Report, columns 240- 41.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 29 November 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Z. Azi.

Chris Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary replied on 17 January.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 15 November 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Samiul Alam.

Chris Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary replied on 7 December.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 9 November 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to S. Hameed.

Chris Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary replied on 20 December.

Departmental Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the cost of (a) ministerial cars and drivers and (b) taxis for his Department in each of the last two years.

Bill Rammell: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Financial Year 2002–03  
			 Radio Taxis (Black Cabs) 150,028.36 
			 Mastercars 146,244.85 
			 Raffles (Hanslope Park) 202,891.01 
			 Total spend on taxi contracts in Financial Year 2002–03 499,164.22 
			   
			 Financial Year 2003–04  
			 Radio Taxis/Addison Lee 125,590.46 
			 Mastercars 103,207.04 
			 Raffles 183,371.18 
			 Total spend on taxi contracts in Financial Year 2003–04 412,168.68 
		
	
	To give estimates of the cost of taxis for our overseas missions could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Mr. Nick Matheson, Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency has at the request of my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Miliband) written to the hon. Member with details of the cost of ministerial vehicles provided to this Department in 2003–04. I also refer the hon. Member to the reply the Minister for the Cabinet Office gave him on 10 January 2005, Official Report, columns 85–87W.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the running costs of the Department were in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) electricity, (b) water, (c) gas, (d) telephones, (e) mobile telephones and (f) televisions.

Bill Rammell: The running costs for the years were as follows:
	
		£000
		
			  1999– 2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 (a) Electricity 7,545 8,490 9,501 9,184 9,570 
			 (b) Water 1,515 1,555 1,737 1,559 1,586 
			 (c) Gas 780 937 931 1,064 1,091 
			 (d) Telephones 12,281 12,882 12,441 14,714 12,823 
			 (e) Mobile telephones — — — 4 55 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures prior to 1999–2000 are not available on a comparable basis.
	2. The cost of mobile telephones was accounted for separately from telephones only from the year 2002–03.
	3. The running costs of televisions are not identifiable from the accounting records.

Entry Clearance Officers

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Entry Clearance Officers are working in (a) Pakistan, (b) India and (c) Sri Lanka.

Chris Mullin: There are 38 Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs) currently working in Pakistan. India also has 38 ECOs and Sri Lanka has seven. These figures are accurate as of 12 January.

European Constitution

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provision the (a) European Commission, (b) European Parliament and (c) European Union agencies have made for providing information to the public on the constitutional treaty for the European Union; and what steps he is taking to ensure that it is politically neutral.

Denis MacShane: The Institutions of the European Union are responsible for their own activities in terms of providing information to the public, though they have made clear that any activities in the UK will be agreed with HMG. The Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities, adopted on 1 May 2004, state that staff must act objectively and impartially. Further details can be obtained from the UK Representations of the European Union's Institutions, contact details of which can be found at www.cec.org.uk, www.europarl.org.uk and www.europe.eu.int.

European Constitution

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that the proposed referendum on the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union will not be held on the same date as elections to (a) local authorities, (b) devolved assemblies, (c) Parliament and (d) the European Parliament.

Denis MacShane: No decision has yet been taken about when a referendum on the European Union Constitution will take place.

European Constitution

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure that information issued by his Department on the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union is neutral.

Denis MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works to ensure that all information it issues on the subject of the EU and the EU Constitutional Treaty is objective, explanatory and is in line with and supports Government policy.

European Constitution

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the provision of information regarding the constitutional treaty for the European Union.

Denis MacShane: Ministers and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are in regular contact with the European Commission and its Representation in London regarding the Commission's information role regarding EU issues in the UK.

External Suppliers

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many tenders were let by his Department to external suppliers in the financial year 2003–04; and what the value was.

Bill Rammell: We are unable to provide the exact information required due to the disproportionate cost of collating the data from all our posts overseas. However, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office did spend a total of £392 million on the procurement of goods and services in 2003–04.

Foreign Students

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the guidelines to Entry Clearance Officers on the granting of visas to foreign students were last revised; and for what reasons.

Chris Mullin: The Diplomatic Service Procedures Volume 1 provides guidelines for Entry Clearance Officers on the granting of visas and includes a Chapter (Chapter 12) on "Entry for Studies". Volume 1 is currently being reviewed to ensure that the guidance in all the chapters is consistent with ongoing changes to the Immigration Rules. The revised version will be available on the UKvisas website (www.ukvisas.gov.uk) shortly.
	Chapter 12 of Volume 1 was last reviewed in June/July 2004 to ensure that the guidance in all the chapters were consistent with changes to the Immigration Rules.

Foreign Students

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to make publicly available to (a) potential students and (b) UK educational institutions the guidelines on granting of student visas issued to Entry Clearance Officers overseas.

Chris Mullin: The Diplomatic Service Procedures Volume 1 Chapter 12 gives full details for "Entry for Studies" to the United Kingdom. This Chapter gives complete information on the Government's policy on issuing visas to overseas students as well as information for applicants who want to come to the United Kingdom as students. Entry Clearance Officers at Post use the guidance in this Chapter to help assess student visa applications. This Chapter is available on the UKvisas website at www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

Foreign Students

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent research he has commissioned on consistency among UK embassies in applying the requirements for granting student visas; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: No formal research has been conducted on consistency among UK embassies in applying the requirements for granting student visas. However, Entry Clearance Officers at the UK's visa-issuing posts assess each visa application on its own merits according to the requirements of the UK Immigration Rules. To ensure that Entry Clearance Officers apply the Immigration Rules correctly and consistently, they receive thorough training and are given extensive and detailed guidelines as well as being managed by an experienced Entry Clearance Manager.
	Most student visa refusals (those for studies of more than six months) attract an automatic right of appeal. If the applicant decides to appeal the decision to refuse, the Entry Clearance Officer will review the application. If the decision to refuse is upheld, the appeal proceeds to the Immigration Appellate Authority where it is assessed. If the adjudicator determines that the refusal decision was not made in accordance with the requirements of the Immigration Rules then the appeal will be allowed. In this way, the appeals process is an additional safeguard against any inconsistent decision making.
	In addition, the Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance annually reviews a random sample of entry clearance refusals that do not attract a right of appeal, including those relating to student applications for visits of less than six months, and reports to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

Mr. Gökce

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the case of Turkish Cypriot civil servant Mr. Gökce, who has been dismissed from his post for private comments he made sympathising with the Kurds and the suffering of the Armenians in the 1915 genocide, and criticising the treatment of Greek Cypriots during the invasion of 1974; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not aware of the details of the case to which you refer, and has therefore not held any discussions on this matter. If additional information can be provided we would be willing to investigate further.

Parking Spaces

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many car parking spaces are provided for those (a) working in and (b) visiting his Department.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has 88 car parking spaces in London, 36 in Croydon, and 907 in Hanslope Park.
	The number of car parking spaces provided overseas is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondments

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the people working within his Department on secondment from the private sector, the organisation or industry they came from and the policy responsibilities they have been given.

Douglas Alexander: A list of secondees from the private sector working in my Department, the name of the seconding organisation and their responsibilities, is contained in the table. Those who have policy responsibilities are marked by an asterix.
	
		Annex A
		
			   Name   Company/organisation Area of responsibility *includes policy responsibility 
		
		
			 Bakhshi Hasan Bank of England Deputy Head Economic Policy Department* 
			 Littlewood Jez Southampton University Provides research support on Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention—FCO London. 
			 Hinde Julia Michael John Trust First Secretary Science and Technology Ottawa* 
			 Porter Dr. Robin KGP Science and Technology Counsellor Beijing* 
			 Scott Alison Gardenex First Secretary Commercial* 
			 McCarther Aeidin North West Development Agency Short term marketing project working with UK Trade and Investment team—Hong Kong 
			 Cooper David AMS Integrated Systems Division Short term project UK Trade and Investment—Washington, researching commercial opportunities in marine sector. 
			 Fenton Graeme Hydro International Short term research project UK Trade and Investment—Warsaw researching commercial opportunities in water sector 
			 Donougher Mark PWC Manager—Global Entrepreneur Programme (UK Trade and Investment London)* 
			 Adams Lew Strategic Rail Authority Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Allen Martyn BAE Systems Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Bassnett Fred Raylian London Limited Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Boswell Debbie British Jewellery and Giftware Federation Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Bowles Edwin Exploration Consultants Limited Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Churchwood Jennifer Ernst and Young Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Crooks Hugh RASE Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Fawcett Paul HSBC Bank plc. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Huang Thomas BNFL Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Hudson Robert Hyder Consulting Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Jones Alexia Deluca Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 McArthur Alan Middlesbrough College Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Ockenden Allan Mott MacDonald Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Patterson Phillip Association of Independent Music Ltd. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Skinner Martyn Tate and Lyle plc. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Sloane Robin Ova Arup Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Speyr von John DSL Consultants Limited Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Talas Risto Maritime and Underwater Consultants Ltd. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Vernon John Drinks Marketing Consortium Ltd. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Vimpany John Exhibition Consultants Ltd. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Williams David Gilbert Gilkes and Gordon Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Wilson Barbara Corgi Hosiery Limited Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Wilson Graham AMEC plc. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Wright Gordon BAE Systems plc. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment) 
			 Wright John Kellogg Brown and Root Ltd. Export Promoter—(UK Trade and Investment)

Sri Lanka

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what access (a) representatives of his Department and (b) non-governmental organisations have to the northern parts of Sri Lanka under the control of the Tamil region, following the tsunami.

Douglas Alexander: Staff of the British High Commission in Colombo continue to have access to these areas, and one visited Kilinochchi on 30 December. Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operate in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled areas of North and North East Sri Lanka including key UN agencies such as UNICEF, the UN Development Programme, the UN High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Programme, international NGOs such as Oxfam and Care, and a number of national NGOs including Sewa Lanka, Sarvodaya and the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation. Following the tsunami, all these organisations took on an emergency focus, providing key support for the emergency, recovery and relief efforts.

Student Visas

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which UK embassies use procedures for granting student visas which deviate from the usual procedures; and what the reasons are for these exceptions.

Chris Mullin: All Entry Clearance Officers at the UK's visa-issuing posts assess each visa application on its own merits in accordance with the relevant paragraphs of the Immigration Act 1971. When assessing student visa applications, Entry Clearance Officers use the guidance in the Diplomatic Service Procedures volume 1 chapter 12, available on the UKvisas website at www.ukvisas.gov.uk. This ensures that all UK posts use the same procedure for issuing visas. While some large posts have special sections dedicated to dealing with student applications, they still follow the same procedures when assessing visa applications.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representatives of the UK Government were present at the signing of the peace deal between Northern and Southern Sudan in Nairobi.

Chris Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development attended the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan in Nairobi on 9 January. He was accompanied by the UK Special Representative for Sudan, the ambassador to Sudan and our high commissioner to Kenya.

Zimbabwe

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has assessed on the operation of the justice system in Zimbabwe.

Chris Mullin: We receive regular reports from our embassy in Harare on the operation of the justice system in Zimbabwe. We have also received the useful reports published by the Bar Council of England and Wales and the International Council of Barristers and Advocates and the Law Society of Zimbabwe. My right hon. Friend the Attorney-General met with a leading Zimbabwe human rights lawyer in November and discussed the justice system in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's legal system is increasingly compromised by the government through delays in the operation of the justice system, partisan appointments to the higher judiciary, and the intimidation of judges, magistrates and lawyers.

Zimbabwe

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to encourage steps to improve the justice system in Zimbabwe.

Chris Mullin: We and our EU partners regularly make clear to the Zimbabwean Government and its neighbours our concerns about the abuse of justice in Zimbabwe. We continue to press Zimbabwe to return to democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, and to repeal legislation on media freedom, NGOs and security that is in contradiction with international norms and Zimbabwe's treaty obligations.

WORK AND PENSIONS

APW Electronics (Pension Fund)

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received regarding the APW Electronics Pension Fund; what assistance will be made available to its members; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend is aware of the difficult situation faced by members of the APW Electronics Pension Fund, and sympathises with their position.
	I met members of the APW Electronics Pension Fund and their constituency MPs on 20 December to discuss their concerns about the pension scheme.
	The Government believe that solvent employers should ensure that there are sufficient funds in schemes which are winding up to meet the full costs of the rights accrued by scheme members. Regulations came into force on 15 March 2004 that introduce a "full buy-out" requirement to ensure that where a scheme is wound up and its sponsoring employer is solvent, the scheme members are more likely to receive the pensions they expect.
	It is also possible for individual scheme members, in certain circumstances, to opt to have some or all of their State Scheme rights restored for the period they were contracted-out, an option that may be pursued by the APW scheme members.

Civil Service Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many items of civil service property within his Department are unaccounted for, broken down by type;
	(2)  if he will list the property belonging to his Department that has been (a) stolen and (b) reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article.

Maria Eagle: DWP was formed in June 2001 from Department of Social Security and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment, including the Employment Service. Information prior to June 2001 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information is collected only for capital assets, which comprise all IT equipment, regardless of value, as well as other assets with a value of £2,500 or over. Information on the numbers of such assets lost, stolen or unaccounted for in each year since June 2001 is in the table.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001–02 1,567 
			 2002–03 1,204 
			 2003–04 1,016

Incapacity Benefit

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants have been in receipt of incapacity benefit in the Easington constituency in each year since 2000.

Maria Eagle: The information is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in Easington parliamentary constituency
		
			 As at August Number 
		
		
			 2000 9,800 
			 2001 10,500 
			 2002 10,000 
			 2003 10,300 
			 2004 9,800 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. Figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance (including IB credits only cases).
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. samples

New Deal

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of people who entered the new deal for (a) 50 Plus, (b) 25 Plus, (c) disabled people and (d) lone parents, have found sustained employment (i) in Great Britain and (ii) in each constituency, in each quarter in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Information on new deal for disabled people is not available at constituency level. Information on new deal 50 plus is not available at constituency level after March 2003.
	A measure of sustainability is not available for new deal 50 plus and new deal for lone parents, therefore tables have been provided showing the proportion of programme starts to job starts.
	The available information has been placed in the Library.

Poverty (Wales)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in poverty there have been in Wales in each year since 1998.

Chris Pond: Poverty is about more than low income; it also impacts on the way people live—their health, housing and the quality of their environment. The sixth annual "Opportunity for all" report (Cm 6239), published in September 2004, sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and presents information on the indicators used to measure progress against this strategy.
	Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in "Households Below Average Income 1994–95—2002–03'. It should be noted that the reporting of year on year changes of low-income rates for countries and regions are not reliable.
	These publications are available in the Library.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Constitutional Treaty

John Cryer: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Electoral Commission regarding the proposed referendum on the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union.

Christopher Leslie: Some informal discussions have taken place with the Electoral Commission to inform policy in relation to the mechanics of holding the referendum on the European Constitution.

Criminal Justice

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans there are to speed up the criminal justice system.

Christopher Leslie: The Strategic Plan for Criminal Justice 2004–08, laid before Parliament in July 2004, sets out the Government's plans for improving timeliness in the criminal justice system. It includes a number of initiatives such as the increased use of Fixed penalty notices as well as reform of the legal aid system to eliminate time wasting and delay and to focus help and support where it is most needed.
	Other specific initiatives include the Criminal Case Management Programme (CCMP), which aims to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system. As part of the CCMP, the Effective Trial Management Programme aims to reduce the number of ineffective trials by improving case preparation and progression from point of charge through to trial or earlier conclusion.
	Moreover, Local Criminal Justice Boards are required to report on their timeliness performance generally and specifically on the timeliness of cases involving persistent young offenders (PYO) where the Government's pledge to reduce the time taken from 142 to 71 days was achieved ahead of target and continues to be met.

Electronic Devices

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many electronic devices are owned by the Department, broken down by type.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on the 12 January 2005, Official Report, column. 565W.
	The last year that figures are available for my Department is 2004, however they relate only to the number of items of electronic devices that were in use and are not broken down by type of item. Further, they relate to DCA HQ and Associated Offices only, and exclude the court service, which does not hold this information centrally and cannot provide the information without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The total number of electronic items owned by my Department in 2004 was 21,410.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the contracts signed by his special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Christopher Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 753W.

HEALTH

Chiropody

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of access to chiropody services for senior citizens.

Stephen Ladyman: No assessment has been carried out centrally. There are now 3,809 chiropodists working in the national health service, a 15.9 per cent. increase on 1997. It is for local primary care trusts to decide on priority for access to chiropody.

Down's Syndrome

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will undertake a review of current research on treatment for Down's Syndrome.

Stephen Ladyman: There are no plans for the Department to undertake a review of current research on treatment for Down's Syndrome.

Fairer Charging Guidance

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to assess the impact that the fairer charging guidance has had on (a) people with disabilities and (b) older people whose income is just above the guaranteed income level of income support plus 25 per cent.; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Following the guidance should mean that a person whose income is just above the minimum level of income support plus 25 per cent. pays only a small amount in charges. We plan in due course to assess the impact of guidance on "Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care".

Food Supplements Directive

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Government will use the UK's Presidency of the European Union to renegotiate the Food Supplements Directive.

Melanie Johnson: It would not be appropriate for discussion on the food supplements directive to be considered as council business during this period as the directive was adopted in July 2002 and applies from 1 August 2005 and the European Commission, at a meeting with the Health Food Manufacturer's Association and the Food Standards Agency on October 2004, stated that it had not received representations from other member states regarding re-opening discussions on the directive.

Homelessness

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the availability of detoxification services for homeless people.

Melanie Johnson: There has been no formal assessment of the availability of drug or alcohol detoxification services for homeless people.
	We are committed to improving strategic planning and commissioning of alcohol services under the alcohol harm reduction strategy and the public health White Paper to improve treatment services. An audit of treatment is being undertaken together with work on models of care for alcohol treatment.
	The National Treatment Agency has undertaken a work programme to increase capacity within inpatient detoxification sector for drug misusers. This extra capacity will benefit all drug misusers, including those who are homeless.

Hospitals

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what development projects are proposed for St. George's Hospital, Hornchurch within the next three years; and whether a capital programme has been agreed.

Stephen Ladyman: Plans are proposed for a new primary care resource centre at the site of the St. George's Hospital, Hornchurch. This will be developed through Barking and Havering LIFT (Holdings) Limited, who will raise the necessary capital.
	Informal consultation is under way and, subject to the outline business case being approved by the North East London Strategic Health Authority, a formal consultation will be held later this year.
	The primary care trust has a capital programme agreed for 2004–05 and 2005–06 but any capital programme relating to the future of St. George's Hospital is subject to approval of the outline business case.

Hospitals

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of the land designated for the Paddington Basin Health Campus is in the ownership of his Department; when he expects it all to be available for the project; and what proportion will be (a) bought and (b) leased by his Department for this purpose;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the total final cost to his Department of the Paddington Health Campus, including VAT and the allowance for inflation;
	(3)  what his latest estimate is of the number of beds which will be available to hospital in-patients at the Paddington Basin Health Campus when it becomes operational.

Stephen Ladyman: The outline business case for the Paddington Health Campus project is currently being considered by the Department and envisages that as well as land already in national health service ownership, additional land is acquired from Paddington Development Corporation Ltd. and Westminster city council.
	The land earmarked for the expansion of academic facilities for Imperial College is owned by St. Mary's NHS Trust and amounts to 0.25 hectares. None of the rest of the land required for the Paddington Health Campus is owned by the Department. The outline business case proposes the freehold acquisition of one hectare from Westminster city council and 1.3 hectares on a long lease, of at least 125 years, from Paddington Development Corporation Ltd.
	The total costs of construction of the Paddington Health Campus is currently assessed as £789 million at current prices which rises to £1,109 million allowing for value added tax and inflation.
	The total number of beds to be built in the Paddington Health Campus is 923.

Hospitals

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the effect upon the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Hospital Trust's financial recovery plan of the capital and revenue contributions requested of these hospitals by his Department towards the cost of the Paddington Basin Health Campus.

Stephen Ladyman: The Trust debated an internal recovery plan at its December board meeting, the papers associated with which are a matter of public record.
	The Department has not required that any capital or revenue contributions be made by the Trust towards the cost of the Paddington Health Campus project.

Hospitals

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the report of the finding of a dead body in the lavatories at Solihull Hospital.

Stephen Ladyman: This matter has been investigated by the police and reported to the coroner. An investigation is being carried out by the Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull NHS Trust.

Mixed Wards

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards mixed wards in hospitals.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has given a clear commitment to improve patient privacy and dignity, and has set three objectives for national health service trusts, which require them to provide single-sex accommodation for hospital in-patients.
	We use the term "accommodation" rather than "wards", as this expands the scope of the requirement to segregate men and women to areas which do not fall within the traditional definition of a ward, for example to care environments which are residential in design.
	Single-sex accommodation is defined as single-sex sleeping areas, separate bathroom and toilet facilities for men and women and, for those trusts delivering mental health services, safe facilities for the mentally ill. The separation of male and female sleeping areas can be achieved in a variety of ways, including the use of single rooms and combinations of single-sex bays.
	The NHS has worked hard to achieve our standards. By December 2003,
	99 per cent. of NHS trusts provided single-sex sleeping accommodation for planned admissions and have robust operational policies in place to protect: patients' privacy and dignity;
	99 per cent. of NHS trusts met the additional criteria set to ensure the safety of patients who are mentally ill; and
	97 per cent. of NHS trusts provided properly segregated bathroom and toilet facilities for men and women.
	The small number of NHS trusts who have yet to achieve the objectives have hospital development works underway, the completion of which will bring them to the required standard.
	In some circumstances, such as emergency admissions, the use of mixed-sex accommodation may be unavoidable. This is regrettable, but no hospital will turn a patient away because a bed appropriate to their gender is not immediately available. Good practice indicates that patients in this situation be moved to appropriate single-sex accommodation within 48 hours.

MRI Scanners

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many hours per day MRI scanners were (a) in use for NHS neurology services and (b) manned by suitably qualified staff in the last period for which figures are available; and what proportion of this time was designated for MS diagnostic purposes;
	(2)  what requirements are placed by strategic health authorities on primary care trusts to arrange access to MRI scans for those suspected of having multiple sclerosis;
	(3)  against what benchmarks performance in terms of access to specialist multiple sclerosis neurological services is managed.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not collect information on the day-to-day operational management of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. Qualified staff operate MRI scanners when they are in use.
	The Department works with strategic health authorities to assess the demand for diagnostic services such as MRI to benefit all groups of patients including those suspected of having multiple sclerosis (MS).
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued clinical guidelines on the management of MS across primary, secondary tertiary and social care settings. The guideline focuses on the quality and configuration of services for people with MS and their carers, and includes specific recommendations around access to specialist neurological services. Local health communities are expected to review their existing service provision for people with MS against the guidelines.

Newspapers/Periodicals

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) newspapers and (b) periodicals taken by his Department in each year since 1997; and how much the Department spent on each in each year.

Rosie Winterton: The Department's library and information service is responsible for central purchasing of newspapers and periodicals for library use and for retention by individual units. Suppliers, who have been chosen by competitive tendering every three to five years are used. New supply contracts were awarded in October 2001, for the supply of newspapers and weekly magazines and for journals.
	Expenditure details are kept on a central system but it does not differentiate between expenditure on newspapers and periodicals.
	Total expenditure for the period is:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 415,890 
			 1998–99 423,560 
			 1999–2000 419,490 
			 2000–01 423,160 
			 2001–02 469,880 
			 2002–03 356,510 
			 2003–04 350,036 
		
	
	A list of current newspaper and journal titles taken by the Department's library has been placed in the Library.

Southwark Primary Care Trust

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in the Southwark Primary Care Trust area referred urgently with suspected breast cancer waited for more than two weeks for an out-patient appointment in each reporting period since January 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the table. 
	
		Breast cancer waiting times following urgent referral -- Urgent referrals received within 24 hours
		
			QuarterYearNHS trust  Percentage compliance with the two week standard   Total referrals seen during the quarter Number of patients seen during the quarter by a specialist after 14 days of the decision to refer by their general practitioner 
		
		
			 Q2 2004–05 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 120 0 
			 Q1 2004–05 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 145 0 
			 Q4 2003–04 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 144 0 
			 Q3 2003–04 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 104 0 
			 Q2 2003–04 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 92 0 
			 Q1 2003–04 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 87 0 
			 Q4 2002–03 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 72 0 
			 Q3 2002–03 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 83 0 
			 Q2 2002–03 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 100 85 0 
			 Q1 2002–03 Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust 96.9 65 2 
			 Q2 2004–05 King's College Hospital NHS Trust 96.9 71 1 
			 Q1 2004–05 King's College Hospital NHS Trust 100 70 0 
			 Q4 2003–04 King's College Hospital NHS Trust 100 97 0 
			 Q3 2003–04 King's College Hospital NHS Trust 100 100 0 
			 Q2 2002–03 King's College Hospital NHS Trust 100 96 0 
			 Q1 2002–03 King's College Hospital NHS Trust 100 68 0 
		
	
	Note:
	1. Data available from March 2002 to September 2004
	Source:
	2004—Cancer Waiting Times Database—prior to this the data was collected via the QMCW Korner return.